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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 







HILLS 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM, 

OR THE 

BOOK OF PROVERBS 




By WILLIAM M. ENGLES, D.D. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. 

1845. 



**** \ 



Entered according- to the act of Congress, in the year 1845, by A. 
W. Mitchell, M.D., in the office of the Clerk of the District Court 
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



a- 



Printed by 
Wm. S. Martien. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Introduction ' .7 . . 9 

The Fear of God ■". 16 

The Fear of Man 18 

Divine Government ...... 20 

Civil Government 23 

Docility 25 

Affliction 27 

Righteousness 29 

A Good Name . 32 

Humility and Pride 34 

Liberality and Benevolence * 37 

Friendship 40 

Neighbours 42 

Forbearance 45 

Government of the Tongue 47 

Moderated Desire . . 50 

Early Piety 52 

Filial Obedience • 55 

Discipline 59 

Duty to Enemies 62 

Temperance . - 64 

Honesty in Business 67 

Industry 72 

Slothfulness 75 

Riches 78 

The Poor 82 



4 CONTENTS. 

Page 

Mercy and Cruelty 85 

Prudence ". .... 88 

Cheerfulness 91 

Keeping the Heart 95 

Steadfastness of Purpose . . 98 

Trust in God 101 

A Good Wife . 104 

Reproof .... T. 108 

Falsehood Ill 

Deceit 115 

Anger 118 

Ingratitude 121 

Envy 124 

Self-conceit . 127 

Injustice and Oppression 130 

Tale-bearing 133 

False Witness „ 135 

The Scorner 138 

Folly , 140 

Evil Company 143 

Strife and Contention 146 

Guilty Apprehensions 150 

False Confidence 153 

Warnings against Licentiousness 156 

Contrition and Obduracy 160 

Unacceptable Worship 163 

Character and Fate of the Wicked 167 

The Wicked not to be Envied 172 

The Uncertainty of Time 177 

The Conclusion 181 



PREFACE, 



The Book of Proverbs is, for the most 
part, a collection of independent sentences 
or apophthegms, and not a connected trea- 
tise. The author does not expatiate on 
the subjects which engage his attention, 
but in a sententious manner presents the 
results of his observation and reflection. 
These condensed sentences evince a pro- 
found knowledge of human nature, and, 
as constituting a portion of its history, 
are admirably adapted to all times and 
places. The arrangement of them under 
separate divisions has been suggested by 
the circumstance, that the same subject is 
presented, with some difference of aspect 
or bearing, in more than one proverb. It 
is not presumed that the classification is 
complete, or that it embraces every part 
of the text ; but as it is, it affords a very 
desirable variety of subjects, which, in this 



6 



PREFACE. 



method, may interest the serious reader, 
and suggest to his mind trains of salutary 
and instructive thought To assist this 
exercise on the part of the reader, the Re- 
flections, which accompany each separate 
division, were written. They do not pre- 
tend to he an exposition of the Proverbs, 
nor do they profess to bring out all the 
points suggested by the inspired writer; 
but keeping in view the general subject 
proposed in the section, they offer hints 
relating to it, not amplified into treatises, 
but briefly expressed, and accompanied, by 
an attempt at a personal application of the 
topic treated* The writer has one simple 
object in view, which he would be most 
happy to attain, and that is, to render the 
perusal of the Proverbs a matter of per- 
sonal interest and practical benefit to the 
reader. 

The proverbs under each section should 
first be deliberately and seriously read, 
and then the accompanying reflections, as 
showing, by way of example, what kind 
of thoughts they are calculated to suggest. 
A single section might with advantage be 
read in the morning, and made the subject 



PREFACE. 



7 



of thought during the day. The mind 
would thus be stored with sound rules of 
conduct, and fortified against daily occur- 
ring temptations. 

Let the reader hear it in mind, that the 
inspired portions of this volume are in- 
comparably the most important. They are 
the "Rills from the Fountain of Wisdom." 
The rest has little pretension, and may 
greatly need the kind indulgence and for- 
bearance of the reader. 



FOUNTAIN OP WISDOM. 



INTRODUCTORY. 

When Solomon succeeded to the regal honours of 
his father David, God submitted to him the choice of 
a gift, with which he should be endowed on his 
accession. "Ask," said the Lord, "what I shall 
give thee." The youthful monarch, with singular 
sagacity, instead of asking for long life, princely 
wealth, or great military renown, selected as the 
highest gift, "an understanding heart." His choice 
pleased the Lord, and his petition was answered ; 
"and God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding, 
exceeding much, and largeness of heart; and Solo- 
mon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children 
of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt, for 
he was wiser than all men, and his fame was in all 
nations round about." Thus excellently endued, he 
was qualified to become the instructer of others. A 
part of his wisdom is sententiously expressed in the 
Book of Proverbs, and it has lost none of its value by 
transmission. The aged may be made wiser by 
studying its maxims, and youth may derive from it 
the most salutary rules, for the establishment of their 
principles, and the government of their conduct. 

We have selected and arranged under particular 
heads, some of the sage instructions of this incom 
parable teacher, in hope that those who taste the 

2 



10 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



stream, may be induced to go with greater relish to 
the fountain, from which it is derived. 

The wisdom of which Solomon so frequently 
speaks, is that which is from above. Summarily, it 
is the knowledge and practice of the will of God as 
revealed to us in his word ; and the most sagacious 
and learned can attain it only in an imperfect degree, 
unless they have received spiritual illumination from 
heaven. He may have the reputation of being a 
wise man who conducts his worldly affairs with dis- 
cretion ; but the religion of the gospel is the only true 
wisdom, as it supplies the best principles of action, 
and the most correct rules of life; as it teaches us 
how to live and how to die ; how to attain happiness 
here, and immortality beyond the grave. It should 
ever be remembered that the instructions of Solomon 
derive great additional value, when received through 
the medium of the gospel. The latter furnishes the 
motives and requisite ability for reducing to practice 
those rules of conduct, which, however they may 
commend themselves to the understanding, will, with- 
out such aid, be comparatively inoperative on the 
heart. It is in this view, that the proverbs of the wise 
man instruct us "to know wisdom and instruction, 
to perceive the words of understanding ; to receive 
the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and 
equity; to give subtlety to the simple, to the young 
man, knowledge and discretion." 

The man thus enlightened, is the " wise man who 
will hear and will increase in learning; and the man 
of understanding who shall attain unto wise coun- 
sels." Let the reader of this little book, in order to 
derive from it the greatest advantage, accompany it 
with the earnest prayer to God for " a wise and under- 
standing heart." 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



11 



When the infinitely wise God condescends to teach 
through the lips of inspired men, there should be, on 
our part, a disposition to sit at his feet and learn. 
However responsibility may be diminished by una- 
voidable ignorance, that is not the predicament of 
those who possess abundant and well adapted means 
of instruction. The revealed will of God is unfolded 
before us, and its teachings are illustrated by his pro- 
vidence, and enforced by the operations of his Spirit 
on the heart. 

This is beautifully described by Solomon. 



Doth not wisdom cry ? and un- 
derstanding put forth her voice ? 

She standeth in the top of high 
places, by the way in the places 
of the paths. 

She crieth at the gates, at the 
entry of the city, at the coming 
in at the doors. 

Unto you, O men, I call ; and 
my voice is to the sons of man. 

O ye simple, understand wis- 
dom : and, ye fools, be ye of an 
understanding heart. 

Hear ; for I will speak of 
excellent things ; and the open- 
ing of my lips shall be right 
things. 

For my mouth shall speak truth; 
and wickedness is an abomina- 
tion to my lips. 

All the words of my mouth 
are in righteousness , there is 



nothing froward or perverse in 
them. 

They are all plain to him that 
understandeth, and right to them 
that find knowledge. 

Receive my instruction, and 
not silver, and knowledge rather 
than choice gold. 

Wisdom crieth without; she 
uttereth her voice in the streets : 

She crieth in the chief place of 
concourse, in the openings of the 
gates: in the city she uttereth 
her words, saying, 

How long, ye simple ones, will 
ye love simplicity? and the scorn- 
ers delight in their scorning, and 
fools hate knowledge ? 

Turn you at my reproof : be- 
hold, I will pour out my Spirit 
unto you, I will make known my 
I words unto you. 



Wisdom lifts up her voice in public places, that she 
may be heard by the simple and uninstructed, and 
proposes to impart a knowledge of divine things more 
precious than silver and choice gold. This proffer is 
accompanied by a promise to the docile, of superna- 
tural aid from the Spirit of the Lord. 

Divine goodness has provided a peculiar means of 
instruction, which may be compared to wisdom cry- 



12 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



ing " at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the com- 
ing in at the doors." The ministers of the gospel are 
a class of men consecrated to the work of public in- 
struction, who are required to go into the highways 
and public places to communicate to the people sav- 
ing knowledge; " to reprove, rebuke, and exhort with 
all long suffering and doctrine," "that the simple ones 
may no longer love their simplicity, nor scorners de- 
light in scorning, nor fools hate knowledge." Blessed 
are they who receive the heavenly lesson with a teach- 
able temper, for upon them shall the Spirit be poured 
as a "spirit of wisdom and a sound mind." 

On the other hand, it is not a mere matter of indif- 
ference that men reject the counsel of the Lord. As 
they sow, so must they expect to reap. The kind 
invitation of God being declined, and his proposal 
rejected, his favour shall be withdrawn, and his be- 
nignant face be clouded with wrath. No audience 
shall be given to the agonized prayer of the sinner 
when reduced to extremity, but the most appalling 
calamities shall thicken round his path. This result, 
to the incorrigible, is delineated in the following start- 
ling language of the wise man. 



Because I have called, and ye 
refused; I have stretched out my 
hand, and no man regarded; 

But ye have set at nought all 
my counsel, and would none of 
my reproof: 

I also will laugh at your cala- 
mity; I will mock when your fear 
cometh; 

When your fear cometh as deso- 
lation, and your destruction com- 
eth as a whirlwind; when distress 
and anguish cometh upon you. 

Then shall they call upon me, 
but I will not answer; they shall 
seek me early, but they shall not 
find me: 



For that they hated knowledge, 
and did not choose the fear of the 
Lord: 

They would none of my coun- 
sel: they despised all my re- 
proof. 

Therefore shall they eat of the 
fruit of their own way, and be 
filled with their own devices. 

For the turning away of the 
simple shall slay them, and the 
prosperity of fools shall destroy 
them. 

But whoso hearkeneth unto me 
shall dwell safely, and shall be 
quiet from fear of evil. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



13 



To prevent so fearful a catastrophe, the most win- 
ning representations are made to awaken in the bosom 
of man a love for heavenly wisdom. Who can read 
Solomon's description of its advantages, both in a tem- 
poral and spiritual point of view, without being con- 
vinced in his own judgment of the importance and 
necessity of giving immediate heed to the things which 
belong to his peace ? 



My son, forget not my law ; but 
let thine heart keep my command- 
ments : 

For length of days, and long 
•life, and peace, shall they add to 
thee. 

Let not mercy and truth forsake 
thee : bind them about thy neck ; 
write them upon the table of thine 
heart: 

So shalt thou find favour and 
good understanding in the sight 
of God and man. 

Trust in the Lord with all thine 
heart; and lean not unto thine own 
understanding. 

In all thy ways acknowledge 
him, and he shall direct thy paths. 

Be not wise in thine own eyes; 
fear the Lord, and depart from 
evil. 

It shall be health to thy navel, 
and marrow to thy bones. 

Happy is the man that findeth 
wisdom, and the man that getteth 
understanding. 

For the merchandise of it is bet- 
ter than the merchandise of silver, 
and the gain thereof than fine 
gold. 

She is more precious than ru- 
bies : and all the things thou canst 
desire are not to be compared unto 
her. 

Length of days is in her right 
hand ; and in her left hand riches 
and honour. 

Her ways are ways of pleasant- 
ness, and all her paths are peace. 



. She is a tree of life to them that 
lay hold upon her : and happy is 
every one that retaineth her. 

My son, let not them depart 
from thine eyes : keep sound wis- 
dom and discretion: 

So shall they be life unto thy 
soul, and grace to thy neck. 

Then shalt thou walk in thy 
way safely, and thy foot shall not 
stumble. 

When thou liest down, thou 
shalt not be afraid; yea, thou shalt 
lie down, and thy sleep shall be 
sweet. 

Be not afraid of sudden fear, 
neither of the desolation of the 
wicked, when it cometh. 

For the Lord shall be thy con- 
fidence, and shall keep thy foot 
from being taken. 

Get wisdom, get understanding, 
forget it not ; neither decline from 
the words of my mouth. 

Forsake her not, and she shall 
preserve thee: love her, and she 
shall keep thee. 

Wisdom is the principal thing; 
therefore get wisdom : and with 
all thy getting get understanding. 

Exalt her, and she shall promote 
thee ; she shall bring thee to ho- 
nour, when thou dost embrace her. 

She shall give to thine head an 
ornament of grace : a crown of 
glory shall she deliver to thee. 

Hear, O my son, and receive my 
sayings; and the years of thy lile 
shall be many. 



14 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



I have taught thee in the way 
of wisdom ; I have led thee in 
right paths. 

When thou goest, thy steps 
shall not be straitened ; and when 
thou runnest, thou shalt not stum- 
ble. 

Take fast hold of instruction ; 
let her not go: keep her; for she 
is thy life. 

My son, attend to my words; 
incline thine ear unto my say- 
ings. 

Let them not depart from thine 
eyes ; keep them in the midst of 
thine heart. 

For they are life unto those that 
find them, and health to all their 
flesh. 

My son, if thou wilt receive my 
words, and hide my command- 
ments with thee ; 

So that thou incline thine ear 



unto wisdom, and apply thine 
heart to understanding : 

Yea, if thou criest after know- 
ledge, and liftest up thy voice for 
understanding ; 

If thou seekest her as silver, 
and searchest for her as for hid 
treasures ; 

Then shalt thou understand the 
fear, of the Lord, and find the 
knowledge of God. 

For the Lord giveth wisdom ; 
out of his mouth cometh know- 
ledge and understanding. 

He layeth up sound wisdom for 
the righteous : he is a buckler to 
them that walk uprightly. 

He keepeth the paths of judg- 
ment, and preserveth the way of 
his saints. 

Then shalt thou understand 
righteousness, and judgment, and 
equity; yea, every good path. 



In view of this representation, how truly has it been 
said by another inspired writer, that "godliness is 
profitable for all things, having the promise of the life 
that now is, and of that which is to come." In a 
merely temporal point of view, it is " heaven's best 
gift to man." It is indeed "the principal thing." 
Man is never so ennobled as in its possession. It is 
life, not subject to sudden termination; it is health, not 
liable to decay; it is wealth, far more precious than 
rubies ; it is happiness, ever tending to a glorious con- 
summation. In sanctifying the heart, it prepares a 
place for the exercise of those gracious affections, 
than which nothing can more adorn and beautify the 
character ; in controlling the passions, it removes 
many of the causes which disturb our own peace and 
affect our friendly relations with others ; and in en- 
forcing right principles of action, it makes us consult 
the interests of others in consulting our own. How 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



15 



sweetly it tranquillizes the mind that reposes in God! 
Enemies cannot wrest it from us, nor dangers affright 
its possessor. Grace enables us to say, " whether I 
live, I live unto the Lord, or whether I die, I die unto 
the Lord, so that whether living or dying, I am the 
Lord's." He that has this heavenly wisdom and uni- 
formly obeys its dictates, shall find "its ways plea- 
santness, and all its paths peace." 

Having premised these things in relation to the 
great principle of heavenly wisdom, we will follow 
the wise man in his exemplifications of it in practical 
life, that we may not only hear, but learn to do the 
will of God. 



16 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



THE FEAR OF GOD. 



The fear of the Lord is the 
beginning- of wisdom : and the 
knowledge of the holy is under- 
standing. 

In the fear of the Lord is strong 
confidence, and his children have 
a place of refuge. 

The fear of the Lord prolongeth 
days : but the years of the wick- 
ed shall be shortened. 

The fear of the Lord is to hate 
evil: pride, and arrcgancy, and 
the evil way, and the froward 
mouth, do I hate. 

The fear of the Lord is the in- 



struction of wisdom ; and before 
honour is humility. 

The fear of the Lord is the 
beginning of knowledge : but 
fools despise wisdom and instruc- 
tion. 

The fear of the Lord is a foun- 
tain of life, to depart from the 
snares of death. 

The fear of the Lord tendeth to 
life : and he that hath it shall 
abide satisfied; he shall not be 
visited with evil. 

By the fear of the Lord men 
depart from evil. 



We distinguish between a reverential and a slavish 
fear of God; the one, awakened by a profound 
sense of his majesty; the other, by an apprehension 
of his inflexible justice. The one, consisting with ad- 
miration and love; the other, associated with distrust 
and hatred. The reverential fear of the Christian does 
not repel him from God, but powerfully induces him 
to renounce every feeling and act, which would op- 
pose the divine purity or provoke the divine displea- 
sure. That which is slavish, on the contrary, has no 
influence in purifying the heart, although by its pre- 
sence, it mars the enjoyment of the pleasures of sin. 

Our first and best knowledge commences in a reve- 
rential fear of God, which operates as a restraint upon 
our lusts, and incites us to a fulfilment of the duties, 
resulting from our moral relations to God. He that 
thus fears will hate sin and love holiness; and thus it 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



17 



becomes a " fountain of life," a source of spiritual 
blessings, and "prolongeth days," by inducing the 
avoidance of those sins, which are so inimical to the 
temporal, as well as the eternal well-being of man, as to 
make it true of the wicked, who practise them, that 
they do not "live out half their days." 

My soul, the God to whom thou art accountable is 
a great God, holy, just, omniscient and almighty! Sin 
is the object of his abhorrence, and shall not go un- 
punished. Stand in awe of him and sin not. Study 
his will, obey his commandments, and this will be thy 
best security against the fate of those who while they 
fear God as a judge, and hate his perfections, still 
cling to their sins and perish in their folly. 



18 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



THE PEAR OF MAN. 



The fear of man bringeth 1 his trust in the Lord shall be 
a snare : but whoso putteth I safe. 

The principle here condemned is one which is pro- 
lific of much mischief to the souls of men. 

One manifestation of it is in seasons of personal 
danger, when the alternative is presented of adhering 
to our principles at all hazards, or securing personal 
safety by their sacrifice. When persecution rages, 
there may be strong temptation to secure life at the 
sacrifice of a good conscience. It was in such circum- 
stances that Peter denied his Lord; and many have 
been frightened from their steadfastness, by the sight 
of the gibbet and the stake. Thus, of two evils, they 
have chosen the greater; — fearing man who, although 
he had power to kill the body, had no more that he 
could do; and forgetting to fear God, who had power 
to cast both body and soul into bell. 

Another manifestation of this principle, still more 
common and insidious, is when religious obligations 
are disregarded from fear of incurring the displeasure 
of our fellow men, or the ridicule of the ungodly. 
When life is not in jeopardy, cowardice may dictate 
silence where there should be an open avowal of our 
principles; or such a modified expression of them, as 
will do violence to our convictions of duty. How 
many, too, from fear of ridicule, have been led to 
resist those salutary convictions, which, if cherished, 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



19 



might have resulted in their eternal salvation! To 
them, of a truth, the fear of man has been a snare, 
from which their soul will in vain struggle to escape. 

The criminality of this fear of- man consists in the 
distrust of the Divine care and goodness which it 
implies. Our heavenly Father never places us in a 
situation in which the renunciation of principle be- 
comes imperative. The evil apprehended is often 
more imaginary than real, and with the temptation 
there is a way of escape that we may be able to bear 
it. Even in the most difficult and trying cases, the 
Divine promise, of strength sufficient for our day, is 
an ample support. 

My soul, cast off the fear of man which bringeth a 
snare, and put thy trust in the Lord that thou mayest 
be safe. Regard no temporal advantage, not even 
life itself, as an equivalent for the loss of the Divine 
favour. Remember that what may be gained by 
proving unfaithful to God and his truth, will be tran- 
sient and unsatisfying, whilst in the sacrifice of a 
good conscience, thou mayest expect future remorse 
and eternal self-accusation. 



20 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



DIVINE GOVERNMENT. 



Counsel is mine, and sound 
wisdom : I am understanding ; 
I have strength. 

By me kings reign, and princes 
decree justice. 

By me princes rule, and nobles, 
even all the judges of the earth. 

The eyes of the Lord are in 
every place, beholding the evil 
and the good. 

Man's goings are of the Lord ; 



how can a man then understand 
his own way ? 

The Lord hath made all things 
for himself: yea, even the wick- 
ed for the day of evil. 

A man's heart deviseth his 
way : but the Lord directeth his 
steps. 

Many seek the ruler's favour ; 
but every man's judgment cometh 
from the Lord. 



There is one Lord and Supreme Governor of the 
universe. By his almighty word the world was crea- 
ted, and to his continued care it is indebted for its 
preservation. His providence or government extends 
to objects and events the most minute, as well as to 
concerns the most grand and magnificent. It is he 
who imparts motion to the orbs of heaven, and the 
light dust which floats in the air ; by him alike, the 
destiny of empires and the fate of a sparrow are deci- 
ded. His providence rules over all. 

Human governments are subordinate and subsidi- 
ary, while the great pervading Spirit which directs 
and controls all human affairs, is God. Mysterious 
and incomprehensible as many things may be, both 
in the history of the Church and the world, yet of 
this we may be assured, that nothing happeneth by 
chance; but every thing is in accordance with a supe- 
rior and controlling agency, developing and perfecting 
the plans of the great Creator and Governor of the 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



21 



world. Rulers and subjects; the righteous and the 
wicked; events calamitous and prosperous, have all 
their subordinate places in his scheme of providence. 
When he has a purposfi to accomplish, the means are 
ever at hand; he rules and overrules; human impro- 
babilities become certainties, and certainties, impossi- 
bilities; the counsels of the most sagacious statesmen 
are converted into follies, and the victory is wrested 
from the hand of the most skilful and heroic captain. 

When he wills it, the ungodly may triumph, and 
the virtuous be oppressed. Those whom he has called 
and chosen with a holy calling, and who are dear to 
him as the apple of his eye, may endure many and 
grievous afflictions, and the Church, his peculiar heri- 
tage, may be made to pass through the fiery ordeal ; 
yet the mystery will soon be solved, and when his 
purposes are unfolded, their wisdom will be displayed. 

Solomon was a wise and powerful sovereign, to 
whom millions were subject; and yet he was aware, 
that his elevation was from God, and that all the acts 
of his government, in which his will seemed supreme, 
were dependent on an overruling Providence. How 
important that all, both rulers and subjects, should be 
impressed with the same truth, that they might see the 
futility of their wisest arrangements, when made with- 
out reference to the divine will ! 

Remember, my soul, that thou art a subject of a 
divine government, and that he who manages thy 
affairs, is the all-wise God. Art thou in covenant 
with him, and canst thou address him as Abba, Fa- 
ther? If thou canst, neither life nor death, nor things 
present nor things to come can separate thee from his 
love. Fixed on this rock, convulsions may shake the 
world; empires may decay and crumble into ruin; 

3 



22' 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



poverty may bring its discomforts, and pain its restless 
tossings; friends may prove false and enemies conspire 
thy ruin; and even death, the last enemy, may exe- 
cute his commission, and yet all shall be well. The 
Lord thy Saviour, the holy one of Israel, who pos- 
sesses the treasures of everlasting might, will so over- 
rule all events, that instead of harming thee, they shall 
work together for thy good. Rejoice then and be 
glad, for the Lord reigns ! 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



23 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 



The king that faithfully judg- 
eth the poor, his throne shall be 
established for ever. 

The king by judgment estab- 
lisheth the land : but he that re- 
ceiveth gifts overthroweth it. 

The prince that wanteth under- 
standing is also a great oppressor : 
but he that hateth covetousness 
shall prolong his days. 

It is an abomination to kings to 
commit wickedness: for the throne 
is established by righteousness. 

If a ruler hearken to lies, all his 
servants are wicked. 

When the righteous are in au- 
thority, the people rejoice : but 
when the wicked beareth rule, the 
people mourn. 

Where no counsel is, the people 
fall : but in the multitude of coun- 
sellors there is safety. 

They that forsake the law 



praise the wicked : but such as 
keep the law contend with them. 

When righteous men do re- 
joice, there is great glory: but 
when the wicked rise, a man is 
hidden. 

When the wicked rise, men 
hide themselves : but when they 
perish, the righteous increase. 

To have respect of persons is 
not good: for, for a piece of bread, 
that man will transgress. 

A wise king scattereth the 
wicked, and bringeth the wheel 
over them. 

It is not good to have respect 
of persons in judgment. 

It is not good to accept the per- 
son of the wicked, to overthrow 
the righteous in judgment. 

Righteousness exalteth a na- 
tion, but sin is a reproach to any 
people. 



How much wisdom is compressed in these brief 
sentences ! Civil government is an ordinance of God, 
and the duty of reverence and obedience to rulers is 
explicitly taught in his word. It is a peculiar bless- 
ing to live under that form of civil administration 
which best secures the liberties and rights of the peo- 
ple ; and such a government, in a preeminent sense, is 
that under which we live. Still it may be readily 
conceived, that the general principles of a government 
may be unexceptionable, and its administration prove 
subversive of those rights. Not only under monarchi- 
cal and despotic, but even republican governments, 
those entrusted with the execution of the laws may 
be corrupt and venal, and, by their partial or sordid 
dispensation of justice, fail to extend protection to the 
people. In these circumstances the people are made 
to mourn. There is ground for apprehension that 



24 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



those who occupy the chief places of power, are, for 
the most part, men of aspiring ambition or covetous 
of gain; who are less solicitous for the welfare of 
the community, than for their own aggrandizement. 
They study the politics of party rather than the code 
of morals; they are more intent on place, than on the 
principles which confer dignity on official station. 
How much more honourable for themselves and bene- 
ficial to the community, if a pure sense of justice dic- 
tated every official act, and their high aim was, to 
"rule in the fear of God." If in the civil compact, 
the people are required to render encouragement, sup- 
port, and obedience to their rulers, they, in turn, have 
a right to expect protection of property and person, 
and security in their religious worship. A good go- 
vernment will protect both classes of rights. 

If a ruler be selfish and ignorant; if he be venal; 
if, in judgment, he have respect to persons rather than 
principles; if he be influenced by falsehood or flattery ; 
if he tolerate the wicked and suffer crime to go un- 
punished; then it must be, as it. always has been, even 
before the days of Solomon, that the people will be 
oppressed, and the prosperity of the nation retarded, 
if, indeed, its existence be not endangered. 

It is a high privilege, my soul, to have thy lot cast in 
a land of gospel light and liberty, and " to sit under 
thine own vine and fig tree, there being none to make 
afraid." Religious liberty is an inestimable privilege, 
and so is the right of worshipping God according to 
the dictates of an enlightened conscience. To secure 
and perpetuate such rights, let thy constant prayer to 
God be, that the rulers of the land may be men after 
" God's own heart," who shall rule in righteousness, 
and in full view of the account which they are to ren- 
der to the Judge of all the world. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



25 



DOCILITY. 



Whoso loveth instruction lov- 
eth knowledge: but he that hat- 
eth reproof is brutish. 

Now therefore hearken unto 
me, O ye children : for blessed 
are they that keep my ways. 

Hear instruction, and be wise, 
and refuse it not. 

Blessed is the man that heareth 
me, w T atching daily at my gates, 
waiting at the posts of my doors. 

For whoso findeth me findeth 
life, and shall obtain favour of the 
Lord. 

But he that sinneth against me 
wrongeth his own soul : all they 
that hate me love death. 

My son, eat thou honey, be- 
cause it is good; and the honey- 
comb, w T hich is sweet to thy taste : 

So shall the knowledge of wis- 
dom be unto thy soul : when thou 



hast found it, then there shall be 
a reward, and thy expectation 
shall not be cut off. 

Hear counsel, and receive in- 
struction, that thou may est be 
wise in the latter end. 

Apply thine heart unto instruc- 
tion, and thine ears to the words 
of knowledge. 

Buy the truth, and sell it not ; 
also wisdom, and instruction, and 
understanding. 

My son, give me thine heart, 
and let thine eyes observe my 
ways. 

The wise in heart will receive 
commandments : but a prating 
fool shall fall. 

Give instruction to a wise man, 
and he will be yet wiser : teach a 
just man, and he will increase in 
learning. 



Fools hate instruction. This is their characteristic. 
However ennobling the acquisition of knowledge; 
whatever sources of intellectual and spiritual enjoy- 
ment it may open up ; or however salutary it may 
prove, it has no charms for them, and no influence in 
arousing them to exertion. 

Docility, on the other hand, as it implies a willing- 
ness to be taught, is the evidence of a better state of 
mind and heart. Neither human nor divine knowledge 
is to be acquired, unless there be a disposition to sub- 
mit to instruction, and a patient and persevering ap- 
plication of the faculties with which the mind is 
endowed. Difficulties are to be encountered and 
overcome by resolute determination, and the toils of 
learning are to be endured, before the treasures of 

3* 



26 FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 

/ 

knowledge can be acquired. In matters of human 
science, no one can expect to become learned, but by 
patient study; and the sphere of knowledge is to be 
enlarged only by gradual accessions. It is equally 
true, although in this case not so generally understood, 
that a knowledge of spiritual things is not to be ac- 
quired by intuition or inspiration, but by the blessing 
of God as the reward of the diligent. 

There must first be an humble and. teachable dispo- 
sition, and then a sedulous use of the means which the 
providence of God has placed within our reach. The 
intelligence of a Christian must bear some proportion 
to his assiduity. He must " apply his heart," hear 
God, "watching daily at his gates," "love instruc- 
tion," " search the Scriptures," and withal seek for 
heavenly illumination, before he can attain to a just 
self-acquaintance, extract the precious ore from the 
inexhaustible mines of the written word, and acquire 
that excellency of wisdom, which consists in the sav- 
ing knowledge of the true God, and of Jesus Christ 
whom he has sent. 

Thus, my soul, thy Creator and Benefactor, instead 
of leaving thee in impenetrable darkness and ruin, has 
caused the true light to shine, by which thy pathway 
to heaven may be clearly discerned. Sensible of thy 
ignorance, and willing to be taught, apply thyself to 
instruction, and with a docile spirit sit at the feet of 
Jesus and learn from his lips. He can disperse the 
clouds which overshadow thy understanding, remove 
the film which obscures thy vision, and make thee 
wise unto salvation. Listen to his gracious word, 
attend on his ordinances, follow the dictates of his 
Spirit, and in heart commune with him constantly, 
and then shall thy path be like that of the just which 
"shineth more and more unto the perfect day." 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



27 



AFFLICTION. 



My son, despise not the chas- 
tening of the Lord ; neither be 
weary of his correction : 

For whom the Lord loveth he 
correcteth ; even as a father the 
son in whom he delighteth. 



If thou faint in the day of ad- 
versity, thy strength is small. 

The heart knoweth his own 
bitterness; and a stranger doth 
not intermeddle with his joy. 



The lot of man is checkered. The streams of hu- 
man happiness and misery flow side by side. Now we 
glide on the placid surface *of the one, and then are 
tossed on the threatening billows of the other. Sin 
has produced a sad change in our original destiny, 
and the frowns of God have blighted the creation 
which owed all its charms to his smile. Man was 
the sinner and he is the sufferer, and now there is no 
clime so favoured as to be a refuge from human wo. 
Mental disquietude, vicissitudes of fortune, the eorrod- 
ings of conscience, the pains of disease, and the groans 
of death are the allotment of those who have fallen 
from their original holiness. Affliction is the expres- 
sion of the divine displeasure against sin; yet we are 
to distinguish between the afflictions of the righteous 
and of the wicked. The one are punitive, the other 
disciplinary; the one are sent in wrath, the other 
in mercy; the one are forerunners of that hopeless 
ruin which awaits the lost, the other the severe, but 
merciful means of effecting that purification which is 
a preparation for heaven. The wicked suffer and are 
without hope; the righteous are assured that "their 
light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh 



28 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



out for them a far more exceeding, even an eternal 
weight of glory." 

The Christian, as he is not exempted from the sor- 
rows of life, should so fortify himself as not to faint in 
the day of adversity. Even when tasting the bitter- 
ness of the cup which is placed to his lips, he may be 
filled with a joy with which the stranger cannot inter- 
meddle. The curse of sin is removed from his soul, 
the anger of God is appeased, and therefore he may 
well endure with patience these seeming ills, which 
have been graciously commissioned to wean him from 
his - earthly loves; assimilate him to his suffering Sa- 
viour; and prepare him for a keener relish of those 
enjoyments which are reserved for him in heaven. 

How wonderful, my soul, are the dealings of thy 
covenant God, who makes all things work together 
for thy good! His love is displayed even in the chas- 
tisements which he inflicts; and not to receive these 
chastisements would be a proof that thou wast not a 
son. It is in this way he would purge away thy dross, 
and bring thee from the furnace, like pure gold tried 
in the fire. Does God punish the wicked ? he only 
corrects thee as a father, the son in whom he de- 
lighteth. Is death an unmingled evil to the ungodly? 
it is to thee a happy deliverance. Faint not then, nor 
be weary under his corrections ; for if thou hast rea- 
son to bless him for other mercies, thou hast special 
reason to bless him for the afflictions, which make thee 
wiser, holier, more obedient, and more heavenly mind- 
ed. Soon shall these sorrows have an end, and then 
shall succeed that glorious state where there shall be 
neither sorrow nor crying, and where all tears shall 
be wiped from thine eyes for ever. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



29 



RIGHTEOUSNESS. 



He that followeth after right- 
eousness and mercy, findeth life, 
righteousness, and honour. 

The highway of the upright is 
to depart from evil : he that keep- 
eth his way preserveth his soul. 

Where there is no vision, the 
people perish : but he that keepeth 
the law, happy is he. 

He that keepeth the command- 
ment keepeth his own soul ; hut 
he that despiseth his ways shall 
die. 

He that walketh uprightly 
walketh surely; but he that per- 
verteth his ways shall be known. 

To do justice and judgment is 
more acceptable to the Lord than 
sacrifice. 



In the way of righteousness is 
life ; and in the pathway thereof 
there is no death. 

When a man's ways, please the 
Lord, he maketh even his enemies 
to be at peace with him. 

The labour of the righteous 
tendeth to life: the fruit of the 
wicked to sin. 

The hoary head is a crown of 
glory, if it be found in the way of 
righteousness. 

But the path of the just is as 
the shining light, that shineth 
more and more unto the perfect 
day. 

The Lord is far from the wick- 
ed : but he heareth the prayer of 
the righteous. 



There is a righteousness which justifies the soul in 
the sight of God. It consists in the perfect obedience 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This being received by 
faith, is reckoned to the sinner's account, and consti- 
tutes him a righteous person. Such a righteousness 
can be achieved by no human effort, in consequence 
of the wreck to which sin has reduced our moral 
faculties. Hence we become indebted for it to the 
interposition of Him " who was holy, harmless, un- 
defiled, and separate from sinners." 

There is a righteousness, too, which consists in per- 
sonal holiness, and to which the law of God, as a rule 
of life, still obliges us. As the first constitutes our 
title to heaven, so the latter constitutes our meetness 
for it ; and hence sanctification becomes as necessary 
to salvation, as justification. 



30 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



The passages above quoted, while implying the first 
kind of righteousness, principally refer to the latter, 
and are designed to enforce and display the obligation 
and advantages of conforming our principles and con- 
duct to the law of God. 

It is important to understand that the religion of the 
Bible, so far from relaxing the obligations of morality, 
insist upon it in its highest sense, not as consisting in 
mere abstinence from sin, but in the positive perform- 
ance of all duties. More is required than a moral 
exterior. A right state of the affections is equally 
essential ; or in other words, there must be right prin- 
ciples, as well as right actions. It is not enough to 
possess faith in the gospel ; we must be able to authen- 
ticate our faith by our works. God has indissolubly 
connected the two, and at our peril, we attempt to 
disunite them. Our obedience must have respect to 
all God's commandments, and must adorn all the rela- 
tions of life. 

The advantages of such a righteousness are many 
and distinguishing. It is acceptable to God. Honour, 
happiness, and safety are found following in its train. 
It disarms the enmity of our fellow men, and is a 
preventive of many of the ills of life. It brings us 
into nearer and holier intercourse with God. It se- 
cures the approbation of conscience. Youth is digni- 
fied by its possession, and the hoary head, when found 
in its way, is a crown of glory. 

Hast thou realized, my soul, the extent and spiritu- 
ality of the divine law, and is it thy constant aim to 
meet its requisitions ? As without holiness no man 
shall see the Lord, dost thou bring every thought and 
feeling and action into subjection to Christ? Is it thy 
meat and drink to do the will of thy heavenly Father? 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



31 



and is his law the man of thy counsel, and sweeter to 
thy taste than honey and the honey-comb? Lest 
there should be any hidden iniquity within thee, pray 
for the searching eye of God, that sin may be detected 
and excluded. Encourage the visits of the Holy Spi- 
rit : nay, prepare thyself as a holy temple, where he 
may constantly abide. ■ Cultivate the graces he im- 
plants; follow after righteousness, and, leaving the 
things which are behind, press onward towards the 
things which are before, that thou mayest become 
perfect in holiness, and meet for the society of the 
blessed. 



32 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



A GOOD NAME. 

A good name is rather to be I loving favour rather than silver 
chosen than great riches, and I and gold. 

Some aim at the reputation of being learned, and 
others, of being brave. The scholar, the soldier, and 
the politician, disregard the toil and self-denial which 
may be necessary to secure their favourite objects. 
It is even possible that men may be proud of their 
infamy and seek notoriety in wickedness. Above all 
others, it is the prevalent desire of men to secure the 
distinctions of wealth, and to have their names asso- 
ciated with hoarded thousands. 

All these may attain their objects of pursuit, but 
does the acquisition secure happiness? Alas! no. 
The learned, the brave, the affluent, and the great, are 
the marks at which envy and malignity aim their 
shafts, and their distinction often becomes the source 
of their bitterest annoyance. Besides, none run in the 
career of mere worldly ambition, without sinning 
against God; and this entails self-accusation and pain- 
ful disquietude. 

A good name, however, that is, a reputation found- 
ed on benevolence and goodness, is rather to be chosen 
than great riches. It is a high and ennobling distinc- 
tion for a man, that "he does justly, loves mercy, and 
walks humbly with his God." How much more fra- 
grant the name of a Howard or a Wilberforce, than that 
of a Caesar or a Napoleon ! Even in the humbler walks 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



33 



of life, a good name may be acquired by him, whose 
heart overflows with love for his neighbour, and 
whose conduct is ever governed by principle. The 
upright, compassionate, benevolent, disinterested, and 
sincere, secure an esteem, which all the hoarded trea- 
sures of the covetous could not purchase. Wealth 
may be acquired by accident or fraud, but a good 
name only by virtue. How sweet the possession! It 
implies virtues which must be associated with tran- 
quillity of mind, and a conscience void of offence to 
God and man. 0, how should youth strive to lay 
the foundation for such a reputation ! How should 
they avoid every thing which might bring on it the 
slightest tarnish! It would be to them a priceless 
treasure, and yet, one false step may for ever put the 
acquisition beyond their reach. 

My soul, let thy distinction be that thou lovest God 
supremely and thy neighbour as thyself. Pity and 
relieve the wretched; walk circumspectly towards them 
that are without; in thy slightest actions be careful to 
furnish no occasion for gainsaying or reproach ; avoid 
the imputation of meanness, selfishness, and covetous- 
ness ; secure the approbation of conscience in all things, 
and whilst a sojourner on earth, let it be seen that thy 
absorbing desire is to promote the glory of God, and 
the best interests of thy fellow men. Let it be thy 
aim to be a lover of God, and a lover of man. 
Then shall thy name be as precious ointment poured 
out. 



4 



34 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



HUMILITY AND PRIDE. 



Better is it to be of an humble 
spirit with the lowly, than to di- 
vide the spoil with the proud. 

Vv' hen pride cometh, then Com- 
eth shame : but with the lowly is 
wisdom. 

Pride goeth before destruction, 
and an haughty spirit before a fall. 

Every one that is proud in heart 
is an abomination to the Lord : 
though hand join in hand, he shall 
not be unpunished. 

Before destruction the heart of 
man is haughty; and before hon- 
our is humility. 



The Lord will destroy the house 
of the proud : but he will establish 
the border of the widow. 

A man's pride shall bring him 
low : but honour shall uphold the 
humble in spirit. 

Surely he seorneth the scorn- 
ers : but he giveth grace unto the 
lowly. 

An high look, and a proud 
heart, and the plowing of the 
wicked, is sin. 

By humility and the fear of the 
Lord are riches, and honour, and 
life. 



There is no grace more frequently inculcated in the 
word of God than humility — no vice more pointedly 
condemned than pride. The one supposes a low, the 
other an exaggerated estimate of our own attainments, 
and hence the first is founded in truth, and the latter 
in ignorance. There is no state of mind in which men 
are so little disposed to be taught of God, or to recog- 
nize their dependence on him, as that of pride. It 
leads to self-confidence, engenders a haughty and 
overbearing spirit, suppresses sympathy for others, 
and the gentle charities of life, and is utterly at vari- 
ance with every sentiment and emotion suitable to the 
Christian character. A proud worshipper of God, or 
a proud follower of the meek and lowly Jesus, are con- 
tradictory terms. 

On the other hand, humility is the first feeling of the 
heart when regenerated by the Spirit of God, and it 
becomes deeper and more habitual in proportion as 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



35 



the soul perceives the excellent glory of God and its 
own depravity. "Mine eye seeth thee/' said Job, 
"wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and in 
ashes." David, in contemplating the external works 
of the Creator, "the heavens, the work of his fingers, 
and the moon and the stars which he had made," was 
constrained to exclaim, " what is man that thou art 
mindful of him, or the son of man that thou visitest 
him?" Infinitely insignificant in comparison with the 
Almighty, and unspeakably impure in comparison with 
the most Holy, man may well exclaim, Behold, I am 
as nothing before thee! The blessed Jesus taught his 
disciples to learn of him who was meek and lowly 
in heart," and the most eminent of his followers 
have always been distinguished by this temper of 
mind. Guilty and ruined as we are, we have nothing 
of which we can be justly proud. 

Solomon, from his elevated position, had peculiar 
opportunities of observing the divine procedure, and 
he has given us the result of his observation in the 
passages above quoted. He had uniformly noticed 
that pride was the precursor of destruction, while 
humility preceded exaltation ; and with this experi- 
ence he had learned that "it was better to be of an 
humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil 
with the proud." 

Remember, 0 my soul, that thy God, while he con- 
temns the proud, has promised to dwell with them 
who are of an humble and contrite heart, and trem- 
ble at his word. What reason hast thou to be hum- 
ble ! How grievously hast thou dishonoured thyself 
and thy God by thy sin! Does not the remembrance 
of thy lowly origin, " the degenerate plant of a strange 
vine," humble thee? Canst thou be uplifted when 



36 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



thou recallest thy unthankfulness, unfruitfulness, and 
short-comings in duty? Does not the recollection of 
the ingratitude with which thou hast requited thy 
merciful and loving Saviour, produce in thee lowly 
thoughts of thyself? Is it not sweet for thee to walk 
in the valley of humiliation ? Is it not most congenial 
with thy feelings, most suitable to thy condition? 
Thou hast no ground of boasting; thy best righteous- 
ness is imperfect ; thou hast fallen infinitely below the 
holy standard of God's law. And is there indeed 
honour and exaltation for thee ? Bless the Lord, for 
it is of his rich, unmerited grace that thou art invested 
with the dignity of a son of God, and shalt hereafter 
be glorified as an heir of his kingdom. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



37 



LIBERALITY AND BENEVOLENCE. 

The liberal soul shall be made | poor lendeth unto the Lord; and 
fat: and he thatwatereth shall be [that which he hath given will he 
watered also himself. j pay him again. 

There is that scattereth, and j He that hath a bountiful eye 
yet increaseth ; and there is that | shall be blessed ; for he giveth of 
withholdeth more than is meet, i his bread to the poor, 
but it tendeth to poverty. He that giveth unto the poor 

Whoso stoppeth his ears at the shall not lack : but he that hid- 
cry of the poor, he also shall cry t eth his eyes shall have many a 
himself, but shall not be heard. I curse. 

The righteous considereth the j Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, 
cause of the poor : but the wicked and come again, and to-morrow I 
regardeth not to know it. | will give ; when thou hast it by 

He that hath pity upon the j thee. 

The gifts of Providence are unequally distributed in 
this world. Some are affluent, some have moderate 
possessions, and some are poor. This difference in 
condition cannot always be attributed to industry and 
thrift on the one hand, and indolence and improvi- 
dence on the other ; but is often the result of circum- 
stances, in which the overruling providence of God 
maybe clearly seen. The industrious are not always 
rich, nor the indolent always poor; wealth is not 
always the proof of merit, nor poverty the result of 
crime. As the distinction exists among men, it is safe 
in all cases to say that God has made us to differ. 
The designs of Providence are often inscrutable, but 
one intent of this difference in worldly condition is 
obvious — it is to furnish scope for the exercise of the 
sweet charities of life. "The poor ye have always 
with you," that you may cultivate the benevolent 
affections, and minister to their necessities. A brother 

may be sick, or infirm, or reduced by a reverse of for- 

4* 



38 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



tune to utter destitution; and is he to be hungry, and 
are we to give him no food ? naked, and we to fur- 
nish him no raiment ? sick, and we refuse to minis- 
ter to him ? While we have enough and to spare, 
shall he perish at our doors ? When he asks for a lit- 
tle of our superfluity to cheer his desolate condition, 
shall we heartlessly refuse him? 

Men may be poor in a still more emphatic sense, 
when destitute of the means of grace, and ignorant of 
the way of salvation. This is a penury which affects the 
well-being of the soul, and carries its blight into eter- 
nity. If we pity and relieve the man who is perish- 
ing for bread, how much more urgent the call upon 
us to extend our charity to those who are perishing 
for the bread of life! If our sensibilities would be 
shocked by the death of a fellow man at our doors by 
famine, how much more deeply should we feel for 
those who are dying around us without hope ! The 
eye of charity cannot be closed on the fearful ravages 
which sin is making in the world, or on the countless 
victims it is heaping up for the fires of Tophet. Shall 
our eye refuse to pity or our hand to relieve? 

In either case the Lord has entrusted the poor to 
the benevolence of those more highly favoured, and 
however ingenious and plausible the excuses for a 
neglect of duty, they will avail us nothing in that day 
when Christ the Judge of the world shall say, " I was 
an hungered, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty 
and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger and ye 
took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, 
and in prison, and ye visited me not." " Forasmuch 
as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it 
not to me." 

Ponder the sayings of the wise man. How pointed 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



39 



and emphatic, and how amply confirmed by the whole 
spirit of the gospel ! Not only do our Christian prin- 
ciples become questionable by the absence of charity, 
but we thereby cut ourselves off from some of the 
most precious promises. "He that watereth shall be 
watered also himself," and so far from being losers by 
ministering to the wants of others, we thus "lend to the 
Lord," and that which we give shall be repaid with 
interest. On the other hand, "whoso stoppeth his 
ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, 
and shall not be heard." He may shut up his bowels 
of compassion, and for the sake of hoarding treasure, 
may withhold more than is meet, and yet it will tend 
to poverty. 

O my soul, thou hast thyself been a petitioner at 
the door of mercy, and if thou hast found favour, wilt 
thou refuse thy sympathy to a poor fellow-sufferer? 
Has the compassion of Jesus relieved thee in thy sore 
straits, and wilt thou turn a deaf ear to the moaning 
cries of thy indigent brother? Suffer not the cold and 
calculating excuses which some may urge for their 
niggardliness, to blunt thy sensibilities, and to close 
the fountain of kindly feeling. Devise liberal things ; 
let thy charity embrace the world; regard each man 
as thy brother, and for humanity's sake, nay, for 
Christ's sake, run to his relief. Canst thou expect 
mercy, if thou showest none ? Can the spirit of a 
compassionate Saviour dwell in thee, if thou canst 
with cold indifference look on human suffering ? Sure- 
ly not. Love thy neighbour as thyself, and esteem it 
thy privilege, and make it thy delight, to minister to 
his temporal and spiritual wants. 



40 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



FRIEN 

Ointment and perfume rejoice 
the heart : so doth the sweetness 
of a man's friend by hearty coun- 
sel. 

Thine own friend, and thy fa- 
ther's friend, forsake not ; neither 
go into thy brother's house in the 
day of thy calamity : for better is 
a neighbour that is near than a 
brother far off. 

Faithful are the wounds of a 
friend ; but the kisses of an enemy 
are deceitful. 

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man 



DSHIP. 

sharpeneth the countenance of his 
friend. 

As in water face answereth to 
face, so the heart of man to man. 

He that rebuketh a man, after- 
wards shall find more favour than 
he that flattereth with the tongue. 

A man that hath friends must 
show himself friendly: and there 
is a friend that sticketh closer than 
a brother. 

A friend loveth at all times, and 
a brother is born for adversity. 



One of the sweetest charms of life is human friend- 
ship. To have even One, to whom we can at all times 
open our heart with confidence, upon whose fidelity 
we can rely, and who, we are sure, will never withhold 
his kindly aid or desert us in distress, is a great acqui- 
sition. In a selfish world where most men are eager 
to serve themselves, and regardless of the interests of 
others, it is pleasant to find heart thus beating respon- 
sive to heart. We should expect of a friend sympathy 
in our sorrow, joy in our prosperity, counsel in trouble, 
aid in difficulty, and rebuke when it is deserved; for 
"faithful are even the wounds of a friend." The 
men of the world have their friendships, but they are 
often the compacts of wickedness, in which one en- 
courages another in the way of ruin. How often 
too are they pretended rather than real, specious ra- 
ther than solid. They flourish in prosperity, but will 
not bear the test of adversity; they are founded in 
selfishness and not in love. The friendship of the 
world worketh death. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



41 



They, however, who have an identity of interests, 
who have selected the same pursuits, have imbibed 
the same principles, because baptized by the same 
Spirit and united to the same Saviour, are best fitted 
for this relation. True Christian friendship can alone 
be relied on: for he that is faithful to God, is not likely 
to prove unfaithful to his friend. 

The rich perfume of a precious ointment but im- 
perfectly symbolizes the sweetness of this relation be- 
tween brethren in Christ, as they pursue their journey 
together, encouraging each other by their hearty 
counsels, and pressing on towards their heavenly 
home. 

My soul, suffer no feeling of jealousy or envy or 
ill will to alienate thee from thine own or thy father's 
friend. To such show thyself friendly. Where the 
sources of human happiness are few, be careful that 
none of them be obstructed through thy fault. Re- 
ciprocate the kindness of others. Repel the sugges- 
tions of suspicion or distrust ; and yet remember that 
human friendship is only subsidiary to thy happiness, 
not its ultimate ground. Thou must look to the avail- 
able friendship of Him " who sticketh closer than a 
brother. 5 ' Is he not thy friend ? Did he not seek thee 
when a wanderer, kindly restore thee to his paths, 
and even die for thy redemption ? Let him not be 
ungratefully requited, or " wounded in the house of 
his friends." Thou needest him more than he needs 
thee, and the day is approaching, when he will be all 
in all to thee, as a friendly intercessor at the bar of 
judgment. 



42 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



NEIGHBOURS. 



Devise not evil against thy 
neighbour, seeing he dwelleth se- 
curely by thee. 

Be not a witness against thy 
neighbour without cause ; and de- 
ceive not with thy lips. 

He that is void of wisdom des- 



piseth his neighbour : but a man of 
understanding holdeth his peace. 

Withdraw thy foot from thy 
neighbour's house ; lest he be 
weary of thee, and so hate thee. 

A man that flattereth his neigh- 
bour spreadeth a. net for his feet. 



In an enlarged sense, as intimated by our Saviour in 
the parable of the kind Samaritan, all men to whom 
we can render kind offices, may be regarded as our 
neighbours; but in a restricted sense, the term is applied 
to those who dwell in our more immediate vicinity. 
In most cases, this nearness of residence leads to asso- 
ciation, which if sustained on friendly principles, be- 
comes a source of pleasant intercourse and mutual 
comfort. If, on the other hand, it be interrupted by 
feuds and collisions, it becomes a source of grievous 
annoyance. Individuals of different dispositions and 
characters, and not unfrequently of different forms of 
religion and pursuit, and strangers to each other, ex- 
cept so far as accidental residence has made them ac- 
quainted, need special rules for the regulation of their 
intercourse. 

Where intimacy may not be desirable among neigh- 
bours, there should at least be respectful behaviour 
and civility. Pride and superciliousness offend and 
provoke enmity, while politeness and kindness disarm 
it; and surely it is worth while to secure the good 
will of the most obscure, when it can be obtained at 
so little cost. 

The feelings of good neighbourhood are essentially 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



43 



promoted by a mutual disposition to perform good 
offices. Many occasions will occur in which our in- 
clination in this respect will be tested; and if we never 
suffer such to pass by without evincing a readiness to 
assist those who need our aid, we will most likely 
awaken a desire to return the good will we manifest. 

Forbearance too, in this relation, is a virtue which 
may often be exercised with good effect. There may 
possibly be those around us whose temper is unsocial 
and hostile, and w 7 hose acts towards us are injurious. 
To meet them in the same temper will only aggravate 
the evil. It is better to suffer injury than to retaliate 
it. Wrath soon cools when met with mildness, and 
hostility loses its edge when opposed only by kind- 
ness. If every little affront is to be indignantly re- 
sisted, and if every act of injustice is to create litiga- 
tion, neighbourly harmony must be for ever sacrificed. 
Forbearance is true economy, as it saves the expendi- 
ture of feeling, time, and money. 

The peace of a neighbourhood is often sacrificed by 
giving currency to idle gossip and detraction. An 
evil report against our neighbour should never be 
lightly entertained, and our efforts should ever be em- 
ployed to repress the love of scandal in others. 

Each of the maxims of the wise man recited above, 
may be pondered with advantage. They are the re- 
sult of experience, and inculcate that friendly feeling 
which is, in fact, the great preservative of harmony in 
neighbourly intercourse. 

May I ever keep it in mind that those by whom I 
am surrounded, are, like myself, weak and sinful, from 
whom perfection is not to be expected. As 1 need 
forbearance, so may I extend it to others, and in all 
things may I do to others as I should wish them to 



44 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOINf. 



do to me. Let it be my invariable rule to do all the 
good I can to those around me 3 and never incur their 
ill will when I can win their esteem. Even, if my 
enemies, I should sympathize rather than exult in their 
calamities; and if they should revile, defame and per- 
secute me, it is my duty to pray for them. May the 
recollection that they and I are soon to stand before 
the tribunal of God, repress every bitter feeling, and 
induce an imitation of the gentleness and meekness of 
Christ. Religion is to be recommended by example 
as well as by word, and so acting, if I shall fail 
to secure their regard, I shall at least escape self- 
reproach. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



45 



FORBE AKANCE. 



Say not thou, I will recompense 
evil ; but wait on the Lord, and he 
shall save thee. 

Say not, I will do so to him as 
he hath done to me : I will render 
to the man according to his work. 

He that hath no rule over his 
own spirit, is like a city that is 
broken down and without walls. 



The discretion of a man defer- 
reth his anger ; and it is his glory 
to pass over a transgression. 

Hatred stirreth up strifes : but 
love covereth all sins. 

He that is slow to anger is bet- 
ter than the mighty ; and he that 
ruleth his spirit than he that taketh 
a city. 



The reader of the New Testament must, in a particu- 
lar manner, be struck with the frequency and empha- 
sis with which the grace of meekness is inculcated. 
The whole demeanour of our blessed Lord in sill the 
variety of situations in which he was placed 'during 
his personal ministry, was a practical exemplification 
of the precept, "avenge not yourselves ;" and his ex- 
plicit teaching, as well as that of his immediate disci- 
ples, was, "resist not evil, but overcome evil with 
good." When our Lord "was reviled, he reviled not 
again; when he suffered he threatened not, but com- 
mitted himself to him that judgeth righteously," and 
in so doing he set us an example that we should follow 
in his steps. Infidelity has paid the highest compli- 
ment to Christianity in alleging, that this is a morality 
too pure for the state of the world. 

To revenge injury is the natural prompting of the 
unsanctified heart ; and on the contrary, forbearance 
towards the injurious, both in spirit and act, is a vir- 
tue of most difficult attainment. What a powerful 
curb must we impose on our passions! With what 
vigilance must we guard against the first symptoms of 
their ebullition! How fervently must we pray for 



46 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



strength from on high to help our infirmity! And 
yet withal how often will we be called to deplore our 
ill success in learning of Him who " was meek and 
lowly in heart!" Still there is no grace which is 
more needed, and upon the exercise of which there 
will be more frequent calls. Between the open and 
insidious assaults of enemies, and the imperfections of 
friends, the spirit will be tried to the utmost, and we 
will find how difficult it is to imitate the suffering Re- 
deemer, or him who was the first martyr in his cause. 
Yet to this we should attain; for this we should disci- 
pline ourselves, not merely on account of the great 
temporal advantages resulting from this spirit, but be- 
cause we thus resemble the Lord, who makes it indis- 
pensable that the disciple should be as his Master. 

Remember, my soul, that thou art placed in a world 
of trial, where thy graces are to be matured by tri- 
umphs achieved over opposing vices. Injuries will 
be inflicted, that thou mayest have an opportunity of 
showing forth thy meekness and forbearance. Others 
will have occasion to exercise forbearance towards 
thee ; learn then to exercise it towards them. When 
thou art tempted to resentment and retaliation, call to 
mind the infinite obligations thou art under to God for 
his long suffering to thee. How often hast thou pro- 
voked him, how greatly hast thou dishonoured him, 
how ungratefully hast thou requited his kindness! and 
yet he has been slow to anger and of great mercy. If 
he has forborne so long with thee, under extreme 
provocation, canst thou not forbear with thy brother 
under comparatively slight injury? It is God's pre- 
rogative to avenge; it is thy duty to recompense evil 
to no man, but to wait on God who is able to save 
thee. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



47 



GOVERNMENT OF THE TONGUE. 



Whoso keepeth his mouth and 
his tongue, keepeth his soul from 
troubles. 

He that hath knowledge spareth 
his words : and a man of under- 
standing is of an excellent spirit. 

Even a fool, when he holdeth 
his peace, is counted wise : and he 
that shutteth his lips is esteemed 
a man of understanding. 

A fool uttereth all his mind : 
but a wise man keepeth it in till 
afterwards. 

The lips of the righteous know 
what is acceptable : but the mouth 
of the wicked speaketh froward- 
ness. 

In all labour there is profit : but 
the talk of the lips tendeth only to 
penury. 

The lips of the wise disperse 
knowledge: but the heart of the 
foolish doeth not so. 



Death and life are in the power 
of the tongue : and they that love 
it shall eat the fruit thereof. 

In the multitude of words there 
wanteth not sin : but he that re- 
fraineth his lips is wise. 

A fool's mouth is his destruc- 
tion, and his lips are the snare of 
his soul. 

There is that speaketh like the 
piercings of a sword: but the 
tongue of the wise is health. 

Seest thou a man that is hasty 
in his words ? there is more hope 
of a fool than of him. 

He that keepeth his mouth keep- 
eth his life : but he that openeth 
wide his lips shall have destruction. 

Pleasant words are as an honey- 
comb, sweet to the soul, and health 
to the bones. 

A word fitly spoken is like ap- 
ples of gold in pictures of silver. 



So comprehensive, explicit, and forcible, are the Pro- 
verbs of Solomon on this topic, as almost to supersede 
the necessity of amplification. Let them be seriously- 
pondered and read in connexion with the equally vivid 
description of the apostle James, (James iii.) as 
they furnish in a brief compass the substance of all 
which need be written on the subject. 

The tongue, as the principal organ of speech, is 
employed to express the thoughts of the mind and the 
emotions of the heart, and hence its efficiency in the 
production of good and evil. According to the internal 
disposition, it may be used to abuse or conciliate, to 
provoke to wrath or to pacify, to tempt to evil or to 
dissuade, to misrepresent or to speak truth, to destroy 



4S 



FOUNTAIN OP WISDOM. 



reputation or to defend, to blaspheme or to pray, to 
dishonour God or to celebrate his goodness. An evil 
tongue, which is not under the government of sound 
principles, is a mischief of incalculable magnitude. 
Words are inadequate to portray the havoc it may 
bring on families, neighbourhoods, and even nations. 
False, insidious and malignant, it may fatally wound 
the objects of its attack, and destroy peace, character 
and life. It is the devil's favourite agency for scat- 
tering firebrands, arrows and death, through the 
world. 

The tongue, when properly regulated, is equally 
potent for good. Its words of truth enlighten 5 its 
words of kindness are an excellent oil to mollify and 
soothe the feelings. It is best employed when en- 
gaged in celebrating the praises of God, and in pro- 
moting his glory. 

How is the tongue to be regulated? is a question 
of no ordinary importance. The remedy for its un- 
ruliness must be radical; no system of rules will be 
available, unless the fountain of thought and feeling 
be purified. It is the instrument of the passions, and 
hence it can be controlled only by first controlling 
them. Grace in the heart will soon evince itself by 
grace on the lips. When wrath, envy, and every evil 
feeling of the heart are kept in proper subjection, the 
tongue will not err. When those graces, which the 
Spirit of God infuses, receive a cordial welcome in the 
soul, the tongue will speak peace and good will to 
men. Rules, even to the most gracious person, may 
also be of use. Let there be a determined purpose to 
control our speech, let there be vigilance in guarding 
its movements, let caution and deliberation mark our 
words, and especially let us learn when to be silent. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



49 



Solomon insists upon this latter as among the most 
important directions for the government of the tongue. 

I would desire always to remember that the won- 
derful faculty of speech has been communicated to 
me, not to render myself and others miserable, but 
happy ; not to be an instrument of evil, but of good. 
May it be my aim to have my conversation always 
seasoned with grace, speaking lovingly and kindly to 
my fellow men, and not provokingly or resentfully. 
I should avoid both foolish and hurtful words. When 
I can do good by speaking, let me not refrain ; when 
I cannot do good, let me be silent. 0 for grace to 
eradicate every feeling from my heart which would 
prompt vain or sinful words, and which may be 
in me a fountain sending forth only sweet waters. 
I am as accountable to God for my words as for my 
actions ; let me remember this, and set a watch on my 
lips. Above all, may my tongue be employed in cele- 
brating the praises of God; and when, at the resurrec- 
tion of the just, I shall be clothed with a new body, 
may I have a seraph's tongue to praise Him to all 
eternity ! 



5* 



50 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



MODERATED DESIRE. 



Two things have I required of 
thee; deny me them not before I die: 

Remove far from me vanity 
and lies ; give me neither poverty 
nor riches; feed me with food 
convenient for me : 

Lest I be full, and deny thee, 
and say, Who is the Lord ? or lest 
I be poor, and steal, and take the 
name of my God in vain. 



Better is a little with righteous- 
ness, than great revenues without 
right. 

Better is little with the fear of 
the Lord, than great treasure and 
trouble therewith. 

Better is a dinner of herbs 
where love is, than a stalled ox 
and hatred therewith. 



"Let your moderation be known unto all men," is 
a divine precept, designed to repress the extravagant 
expectations and unlicensed indulgences to which hu- 
man nature is prone. The passions run riot unless 
restrained, and " the lust of the flesh, the lust of the 
eyes, and the pride of life," exert a dominant influence 
over the life. There is no sensual enjoyment of which 
the heart is ready to say, "it is enough;" and wealth, 
as the means of obtaining them, is sought for with 
avidity, until its pursuit becomes an engrossing pas- 
sion. The necessities of our nature are comparatively 
few and easily provided for; but not content with 
this, the desire grasps after more than is necessary and 
which can only be hoarded, or expended in the grati- 
fication of artificial wants. It is in the very nature 
of earthly possessions not to satisfy, and however 
large and cumbrous they may be, the cupidity of the 
heart still demands more. "Hell and destruction are 
never full ; so the eyes of man are never satisfied." 

In opposition to this general trait of character, the 
Christian is admonished to repress covetousness, to 
moderate his desires, and to rectify his views of the 



FOUNTAIN OP WISDOM. 



51 



power of the world to produce happiness. 66 Having 
food and raiment," that is, the ordinary comforts of 
life, "be therewith content." It is not the amount 
possessed, but the spirit in which it is enjoyed that 
has an influence for good or evil. Wealth may only 
be a cause of trouble, while a little with the fear of 
the Lord, may satisfy every wish. Poverty is not de- 
sirable, for it brings many discomforts, and wealth 
should not be desired, for it exposes to many dangers; 
but there is a golden mean, in which we are provided 
with things convenient for us. He is the wise man 
who, instead of being the slave of the world, is only 
indebted to it for a passing hospitality. 

I would call thee, my soul, to a strict account, and 
ascertain if thou holdest thy passions in subjection. 
Thou hast learned that the world has little to impart, 
why then should thy desires be turned towards it? 
Should it be so liberal as to give thee all it possesses, 
thou couldest safely do no more than satisfy those 
wants, which may be satisfied with very little. Many 
gain the world and lose their souls, and wherein are 
they profited ? Take warning by their fate, and mo- 
derate thy desire for earthly things. Hast thou godli- 
ness? that, with contentment, is great gain. If thou 
art covetous, be only covetous of what is good 5 build 
not below the skies; grasp after eternal things, and 
indulge unlimited desire of heavenly happiness, for 
such wishes, large as they may be, are acceptable to 
God, and shall be satisfied. 



52 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



EARLY PIETY. 

I love them that love me, and they that seek me early 
shall find me. 



How encouraging the declaration, and how unambi- 
guous the promise! God loves the offering of the 
youthful heart, and the steps which are early directed 
in the way to Zion he will surely guide. Happy 
youth ! whose first affections are given to God whose 
worldly aspirations are repressed and supplanted by 
aspirations after heaven; who dost resolve to turn 
back from the way of sin, before thou hast had a long 
and painful experience of its ruggedness. 

It is a very peculiar encouragement to early effort 
in religion that it shall be successful. It is possible 
that God may be propitious to the sinner who comes 
to him at the eleventh hour, but the application may, 
when long delayed, utterly fail. The foolish virgins 
who were aroused out of their slumber by the mid- 
night cry, were shut out, and could hear no favourable 
response to their importunate entreaties for admission. 
Where God's invitations have long been despised, his 
grace may be finally withheld, and the hope of the 
sinner be cut off. Not so with those who seek God 
in their youth — they " shall find" him. It is his own 
gracious promise. 

To none does the world present such fascinations as 
to the young. Taking advantage of their inexpe- 
rience, the great adversary pictures to their imagina- 
tion a thousand unreal and unsubstantial scenes which 
have all the semblance of truth; a captivating view 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



53 



spreads out before them, and flowery paths invite their 
feet, and the numberless evils which have unexpect- 
edly sprung up in the way to disappoint their prede- 
cessors, are artfully hidden from their view. Thus 
are multitudes deceived to their ruin; they dream not 
of disappointment and sorrow, and disregard all warn- 
ings; and although they soon find that their hopes are 
not realized, they press on, still relying on the deceit- 
ful promises of sin. 

Some, however, are from their childhood inspired 
with the fear of God, which is the beginning of wis- 
dom. They search the Scriptures, bend the youthful 
knee in prayer, give their affections to their heavenly 
Father, and ask him to be the guide of their youth. 
Their prayer is heard and answered, and they are re- 
deemed from the pollutions of the world. 

The advantages of a piety thus early commenced 
are manifold. How many painful reflections and re- 
morseful self-accusations are thus escaped ! Although 
they will have much to deplore as the inheritors of a 
corrupt nature, yet they will not, like the aged peni- 
tent, be compelled to travel back through long years 
of rebellion, to be pained at every step, by the appa- 
rition of murdered time, the ghosts of abused and lost 
opportunities, and the recollection of innumerable and 
flagrant sins. How extensive too will be their reli- 
gious attainments ! Those who soonest enter the 
school of Christ and are diligent in study, will learn 
most of God's will, his government, his providence, 
his love and faithfulness, and will be most likely to 
obtain that full assurance of faith and hope, which is 
an infinitely richer inheritance than the world has in 
its offer. What increased pleasures in religion will 
they also enjoy! This will be a result of their attain- 



54 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



ments, for the more that is known of the divine excel 
lency, the more exquisite will be the joy of the soul 
The perfection of blessedness in heaven consists in the 
perfection of the knowledge which the soul there has 
of God ; hence the more of that knowledge which is 
acquired here, the greater the happiness. Many 
Christians walk in doubt and apprehension, and 
through fear of death are subject to bondage ; but he 
that has run in the Christian course from his youth, is 
most likely to be skilled in the Christian warfare, most 
likely to bring his heart under the influence of the 
graces of the Spirit, and to have such discoveries of 
the divine love, and such familiarity at the throne of 
grace, as to be assured that he is a son of God and an 
heir of glory. And 0, what sweet experience may 
he have of God's love, and of his interest in Christ ; 
what foretastes of heavenly happiness, what confi- 
dence that neither life nor death, nor things present, 
nor things to come, shall be able to separate him from 
his holy and happy connexion with his divine Re- 
deemer. 

Many, when advanced in years, have bitterly la- 
mented that their hearts were not given to God in 
youth; but none, that they have devoted the prime of 
their days to this most excellent service. The young, 
therefore, should remember their Creator in the days 
of their youth, and those who would increase the 
amount of human happiness here, and multiply joy in 
heaven, will use their best efforts to instruct, to guide 
and persuade the young to escape from the pollutions 
of the world, and to set out early in their heavenly 
journey. 

My soul, hast thou been early called to remember 
thy Creator and to keep his law? how many Satanic 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



55 



snares hast thou thus escaped, and how much bitter 
repentance hast thou thus avoided ! Never canst thou 
be sufficiently grateful for an early acquaintance with 
God, — with his love and faithfulness. But if unhap- 
pily thy childhood and youth were vanity, and a Sa- 
viour's love was long resisted; for this let thy repent- 
ance be sincere, and let present opportunities be more 
diligently improved. Thus redeem squandered time ; 
make thy calling and election sure, and run with 
alacrity the remainder of thy race. At least, in the 
fervour of thy love and in the devotion of thy life, 
compete with those who have earlier entered the 
course. 



56 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



FILIAL OBEDIENCE. 



My son, hear the instruction of 
thy father, and forsake not the 
law of thy mother: 

For they shall be an ornament 
of grace unto thy head, and chains 
about thy neck. 

My son, keep thy father's com- 
mandment, and forsake not the 
law of thy mother : 

Bind them continually upon 
thine heart, and tie them about 
thy neck. 

When thou goest, it shall lead 
thee ; when thou sleepest, it shall 
keep thee; and when thou awakest, 
it shall talk with thee. 

Whoso keepeth the law is a 
wise son : but he that is a com- 
panion of riotous men, shameth 
his father. 

Hearken unto thy father that 
begat thee, and despise not thy 
mother when she is old. 

A wise son heareth his father's 
instruction : but a scorner heareth 
not rebuke. 

A wise son maketh a glad fa- 



ther : but a foolish son is the hea- 
viness of his mother. 

A wise son maketh a glad fa- 
ther ; but a foolish man despiseth 
his mother. 

The father of the righteous shall 
greatly rejoice : and he that be- 
getteth a wise child shall have joy 
of him. 

Thy father and thy mother shall 
be glad, and she that bare thee 
shall rejoice. 

A foolish son is a grief to his 
father, and bitterness to her that 
bare him. 

Whoso curseth his father or his 
mother, his lamp shall be put out 
in obscure darkness. 

He that waste th his father, and 
chaseth away his mother, is a son 
that causeth shame, and bringeth 
reproach. 

The eye that mocketh at his 
father, and despiseth to obey his 
mother, the ravens of the valley 
shall pick it out, and the young 
eagles^ shall eat it. 



The parental relation ! How full of sweet asso- 
ciations and tender reminiscences! Hast thou a 
father — a mother? They are thy natural guardians, 
thy dearest earthly friends. They joyfully smiled at 
thy introduction into the world. Towards thee their 
affections gushed forth as from a fountain newly 
opened. Through prattling childhood and thought- 
less boyhood, they tenderly watched over thee. Their 
anxieties were awakened and their sedulous care was 
on the alert, if sickness clouded thy brow. Thy open- 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



57 



ing manhood was watched with intense solicitude, 
and into all thy plans for future life, they entered with 
a feeling in which none others could fully participate. 
Thy joys were their joys, thy sorrows their sorrows. 
In every adversity, however the world might frown, 
their bosom was thy sanctuary ; and is it a hard duty 
to render them filial reverence and obedience? Canst 
thou ever fully recompense their care and kindness ? 
Thy sacred duty to them should be accounted thy 
sweetest privilege. 

Filial reverence is one of the ten subjects which 
Jehovah signalized when he delivered his law from 
Sinai. To this he especially appended a promise: 
"Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days 
may be long on the land which the Lord thy God 
giveth thee." If peculiar blessings are insured to the 
obedient, peculiar judgments are threatened against 
the disobedient. The holy Scriptures insist on this 
subject, and characterizing the flagrant ingratitude and 
wickedness of unfilial conduct, mete out to it a pun- 
ishment proportionally great. 

The actions of a child which bring shame and dis- 
honour on a parent, are a violation of this command- 
ment, as palpable as if those actions were personally 
undutiful and disrespectful. He that shames his 
father by being a companion of the riotous, or is a 
heaviness to his mother by his folly, is under a similar 
condemnation with him who mocketh at his father or 
despiseth to obey his mother. As a natural guardian, 
the directions of a parent should be followed; as a 
counsellor, his opinions should be treated with defer- 
ence ; as a progenitor, affection is due to him from his 
offspring. In all things lawful and proper his com- 
mands should be law. Even where a parent is not 

6 



58 



"FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



all he should be, the duty of a child is not diminished, 
but should be cheerfully rendered. Attention and 
affection -to a parent should be uniform, and protection 
and support extended when necessary; he should be 
reverenced through life, comforted in old age, and en- 
couraged and sustained in his passage to the tomb. 
0, never, never should a father's care and a mother's 
enduring love be forgotten or ill-requited. Living 
they should be honoured, and their memory cherished 
when they are dead. 

0 my soul, if thou art indebted to earthly relations, 
if thou hast received kindness from them, and per- 
haps those early impressions, which have led thee 
to choose the one thing needful, for this thou shouldst 
be thankful. If love and duty should be cheerfully 
extended to an earthly parent, thou occupiest a higher 
relation, thou art a son of God, and to thy heavenly 
Father is due a still purer love, a holier obedience. 
Grieve Him not by thy perverseness; forfeit not his 
favour by thy rebellion, but when he says, " seek ye 
my face/' let thy reply be "thy face, Lord, will I 
seek." Let his service be thy delight, his glory thy 
aim; and as he can do thee no wrong, but ever in his 
chastenings, corrects thee as a son whom he loveth, be 
submissive to his dispensations. Now he permits thee 
to call him Abba, Father, and receives thee by adop- 
tion into his household — wait, and thou shalt be made 
a member of his one glorious family in heaven. 



FOUNTAIN OP WISDOM. 



59 



DISCIPLINE. 



A whip for the horse, a bridle 
for the ass, and a rod for the fool's 
back. 

Foolishness is bound in the 
heart of a child; but the rod of 
correction shall drive it far from 
him. 

He that spareth his rod hateth 
his son : but he that loveth him 
chasteneth him betimes. 

The rod and reproof give wis- 



dom; but a child left to himself 
bringeth his mother to shame. 

Chasten thy son while there is 
hope, and let not thy soul spare 
for his crying. 

Correct thy son, and he shall 
give thee rest; yea, he shall give 
delight unto thy soul. 

Withhold not correction from 
the child ; for if thou beatest him 
with the rod, he shall not die. 



We are the " degenerate plants of a strange vine/' 
and the earliest buddings of life but too sadly prove 
the corruption of the stock from which we spring. 
" We go astray as soon as we be born," and although 
the passions may be in their infancy, yet they furnish 
unequivocal evidence of their evil nature and tenden- 
cy. Youth, childhood, and even infancy, need re- 
straints to keep in subjection the unhallowed propen- 
sities, which are innate, and which would otherwise 
break forth in acts of misrule and violence. A child 
is supposed to possess little knowledge and less dis- 
cretion to guide its own steps; it must therefore be 
indebted for salutary restraint to its elders, and espe- 
cially to those who are entrusted by God with its 
training. The duty is at once delicate and difficult. 
Many err in it, and the sad consequences of their 
error may be traced in the moral and spiritual ruin of 
their offspring. In a charge so precious and respon- 
sible, parents need to be endued with heavenly 
wisdom. 

They must act upon fixed principles ; their authori- 



60 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



ty must be felt and acknowledged, and while their 
discipline is kind and affectionate, it must be uniform, 
firm, and decided. How many, to escape trouble, or 
in the exercise of a false kindness, suffer tempers 
which might be nipped in the bud, to grow up beyond 
the reach of control! Injudicious treatment has not 
only entailed misery on children, but brought the gray 
hairs of parents in sorrow to the grave. 

All admit the necessity of early and careful instruc- 
tion, as well as of persuasion and entreaty, to induce 
children to walk in the right way ; but it is to be 
feared, that many have discarded from their theory 
of education, those sage maxims of wisdom and Scrip- 
ture, which enforce the necessity of chastisement. 
Children are by nature perverse, wayward, and law- 
less, and they early commence the struggle for the 
mastery. If not seasonably checked ; if not taught 
to respect the authority of their parents and to fear 
power, the consequences may easily be foretold — they 
will become disobedient and disrespectful, and grow 
up the pests of the community. Where the law of 
reason will not avail, the rod of correction must be 
substituted. There should not be undue severity ; 
correction should never be administered on slight 
occasions ; the child should be made to see that it is 
resorted to from a sense of duty and not in an ebul- 
lition of passion; to do him good, and not to gratify 
angry feelings; and in a word he should be made to 
associate his sufferings with his faults. 

The wisdom of such inspired maxims, as those 
quoted above, has been verified in the experience of 
many, who have had reason to be thankful for the 
results of their application. 

Let me remember, if a parent, that the souls of my 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



61 



children shall be required at my hand. If I unduly 
indulge, I may ruin them; if I pass by their faults, I 
may confirm them in evil. To train them for useful- 
ness here and immortality hereafter, I must not only 
commend them to God, and impart to them sound 
counsel; but repress their lawless desires and curb 
their rebellious feelings, by punishment judiciously 
inflicted. It is false kindness to abstain from just se- 
verity, for " he that spareth his rod hateth his son, 
but he that loveth him, chasteneth him betimes." My 
heavenly Father scourgeth every son he receiveth, 
and when he chastens, it is not for his pleasure, but 
their good. Surely I may safely follow his example. 
Have I not experienced the benefit of a parental love 
which could sacrifice its own feelings in correcting me 
for my faults ? and shall I not deny myself, in chas- 
tening my child, while there is hope, and before evil 
habits become too firmly fixed to be eradicated? 



6' 



62 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



DUTY TO ENEMIES. 



Rejoice not when thine enemy 
falleth, and let not thine heart be 
glad when he stumbleth: 

Lest the Lord see it, and it dis- 
please him, and he turn away his 
wrath from him. 



If thine enemy be hungry, give 
him bread to eat ; and if he be 
thirsty, give him water to drink: 

For thou shalt heap coals of 
fire upon his head, and the Lord 
shall reward thee. 



If the blessed Jesus, who was a living exemplifica- 
tion of all the virtues and graces of human character 
in its purest state, could not pass through the world 
without enemies, who hated both his doctrine and his 
person, and reviled, defamed, and persecuted him 
even to death, how can his disciples expect to be ex- 
empt? It is enough that the disciple should be as his 
Lord. 

Men may be our enemies causelessly through misap- 
prehension of our character, or in consequence of some 
supposed injury ; and their hostility may be more or 
less bitter and unrelenting, and lead them to acts 
affecting our peace, reputation, property, or life. 

Under these circumstances what should be our con- 
duct ? Should we retaliate, wish them evil, or seek 
their injury? The gospel forbids it. The true temper 
of the Christian revolts at it. On the contrary, we 
should endeavour to appease their anger, disarm their 
hostility, and win their esteem and love. True mag- 
nanimity, so far from saying " an eye for an eye, or a 
tooth for a tooth," dictates a conciliating course. How 
much better to triumph over an enemy by love, than 
by revenge ! How much better to assuage, than to 
add new exasperation to, his feelings ! It was said of 



FOUNTAIN OP WISDOM. 



63 



an eminently good man, who was habitually control- 
led by the spirit of the gospel, that there was no surer 
way of obtaining from him acts of kindness than to 
do him an ill turn. It would indeed be difficult to 
continue to be the enemy of such a man. 

To return good for evil is the Christian's maxim. 
If an enemy is in want, minister to his necessities, and 
let the veil of charity shade from remembrance the 
injuries he has inflicted. If in the course of provi- 
dence, calamities befal him, so far from triumphing in 
his disasters, be the first to extend to him sympathy 
and a helping hand. Should such a temper as this 
prevail, how soon would the fires of rancorous hate 
and deadly feud be extinguished! 

My soul, keep before thee the example of the bless- 
ed Jesus at all times, that thou mayest be able to che- 
rish feelings of universal good will to men. Under 
the contradiction and persecuting hate of sinners, he 
was mild, patient, uncomplaining, and forgiving. Aim 
to be like him. The world that hated him, he loved, 
and died for their redemption ; and why canst thou 
not pray for those who despitefully use thee ? In a 
slanderous world thou mayest not expect that all men 
will speak well of thee ; in a selfish world thou 
mayest not hope to enjoy the friendship of all ; in a 
sinful world thou canst not escape collisions and inju- 
ries; but thy best policy and truest wisdom will be, 
to love thine enemies and to do good to them that 
hate thee. 



64 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



TEMPERANCE. 



Wine is a mocker, strong drink 
is raging : and whosoever is de- 
ceived thereby is not wise. 

It is not for kings, it is not for 
kings to drink wine ; nor for 
princes strong drink : 

Lest they drink, and forget the 
law, and pervert the judgment of 
any of the afflicted. 

Give strong drink unto him that 
is ready to perish, and wine unto 
those that be of heavy hearts. 

He that loveth pleasure shall be 
a poor man : he that loveth wine 
and oil shall not be rich. 

Be not among wine-bibbers ; 
among riotous eaters of flesh : 

For the drunkard and the glut- 
ton shall come to poverty* and 



drowsiness shall clothe a man with 
rags. 

Who hath wo ? who hath sor- 
row ? who hath contentions ? who 
hath babbling ? who hath wounds 
without cause ? who hath redness 
of eyes ? 

They that tarry long at the 
wine ; they that go to seek mixed 
wine. 

Look not thou upon the wine 
when it is red, when it giveth his 
colour in the cup, when it moveth 
itself aright. 

At the last it biteth like a ser- 
pent and stingeth like an adder. 

Thine eyes shall behold strange 
women, and thine heart shall utter 
perverse things. 



In an enlarged sense, temperance relates to the mode- 
ration of all the sensual appetites ; and in its more 
common acceptation, it is opposed to gluttony on the 
one hand, and to the excessive use of intoxicating 
drinks on the other. 

The appetite for food, with its attendant gratifica- 
tion, has been wisely ordained by the Creator, to in- 
duce us to use the means for the preservation of life ; 
and it is abused and perverted from its right end when 
we minister to it solely for the sake of animal gratifi- 
cation. The art of man has been taxed in the inven- 
tion of luxuries to regale the palate; and many, 
reversing the rule, live to eat, instead of eating to live. 
Immoderate indulgence in eating, instead of invig- 
orating, enfeebles the constitution, which God has 
given us; and is a sin against nature, as well as an 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



65 



express violation of the divine command. It is irra- 
tional and immoral, inasmuch as it sensualizes the 
whole man, obscuring and impairing the intellect, and 
entailing the most fearful bodily diseases. Nature 
demands a simple and moderate diet ; with more than 
this, its wonderful and complicated machinery is dis- 
ordered and eventually ruined. 

Intemperance in drinking, if not a more common 
vice, is perhaps more directly injurious. Intoxicating 
drinks are first resorted to for the exhilaration they 
produce, and frequent indulgence confirms a habit, 
which imperiously demands gratification. Nature 
may be so accustomed .to act under artificial stimu- 
lants as to refuse to act without them. Where this 
disease or vice in the system is superinduced, drunken- 
ness is the result, under the influence of which the 
most terrible ravages are committed on the human 
system. The land has become loathsome from the 
effects of this vice. The bloated visage, the stagger- 
ing gait, the imbecile intellect, with a long array of 
fatal diseases, are its prominent results, so far as the 
physical frame is concerned; and in its moral influ- 
ence, it disqualifies the mind for serious thought, stu- 
pefies the conscience, inflames the passions, hardens 
the heart and becomes an inlet to all the other vices. 
The drunkard, while he becomes a hateful object on 
earth, necessarily cuts himself off from the hope of 
heaven. His ruin is total, involving both body and 
soul. 

Now as no man deliberately resolves to become a 
drunkard, but is gradually seduced into the habit, 
through a vain self-confidence that he can restrain his 
indulgence within proper limits; and as those who 
fall, may attribute their ruin to the insidious nature of 



66 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



the vice, which makes its approach by almost imper- 
ceptible advances, self-preservation dictates the pro- 
priety of total abstinence. No one can become 
a drunkard who wholly abstains, and no one can be 
sure that he will not become a drunkard, if he in- 
dulges. The maxim may well be accommodated to 
the subject — " touch not, taste not, handle not." 

May I remember that He who hath created me, 
hath called me to higher objects and pursuits, than 
the mere indulgence of animal appetites. Having 
food convenient for me, may I therewith be content ; 
and may I never resort to a dangerous beverage to 
repair exhausted energies, or to obtain oblivion for my 
woes. I am accountable to my Maker for every in- 
jury which I may inflict on the nature he hath given 
me ; and I grievously sin when I so indulge my appe- 
tites as to unfit me for his service. May I be tem- 
perate in all things, and avoid those convivial scenes 
in which I might be tempted to transgress the rules of 
moderation. While I pity those who are slaves to 
their appetites, may I strive to awaken within them 
the determination to act as rational and immortal 
beings, and to avoid those vices of gluttony and drunk- 
enness, which will otherwise bring upon them the 
double ruin of body and soul 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



67 



HONESTY IN BUSINESS. 



A false balance is abomination 
to the Lord: but a just weight is 
his delight. 

Withhold not good from them 
to whom it is due, when it is 
in the power of thine hand to 
do it. 

A just weight and balance are 



the Lord's : all the weights of the 
bag are his work. 

Divers weights are an abomi- 
nation unto the Lord ; and a false 
balance is not good. 

It is naught, it is naught, saith 
the buyer : but when he is gone 
his way, then he boasteth. 



From the very constitution of human society there 
must be producers and consumers, sellers and buyers; 
and it is in this way that the various grades of the 
community are .'interlinked and become mutually de- 
pendent on each other. The intercourse thus estab- 
lished, must be based on fixed laws, the infringement 
of which will necessarily endanger its continuance. 
All business transactions should be conducted on the 
principles of truth and honesty. It is alike the law 
of the land and the law of God. The desire of gain 
often interferes to violate this law, bringing in its train 
innumerable evils. When strict principle is laid aside, 
ingenuity devises innumerable schemes of fraud; and 
fair and honest dealing is interrupted by overreaching 
on the one hand, and distrust on the other. 

Even setting aside those, who, regardless of char- 
acter, will defraud on every favourable occasion ; 
there is a large class of the business community who 
act more cautiously, although not less dishonestly. 
Besides the false weights and measures, to which only 
the more unprincipled resort, there are tricks in trade, 
which although sanctioned by custom, are equally 
criminal, because leading to the same results. He is 



68 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



a dishonest man, who, in driving a bargain, will im- 
pose on the ignorance, simplicity and credulity of a 
customer, in palming on him worthless commodities, 
in exacting from him exorbitant profits, in making 
him a sufferer, by first making him a dupe. He is 
dishonest who praises his goods beyond their well 
known value, and who secures their sale by affecting 
that he is selling at an actual loss. He is equally dis- 
honest who, in purchasing, will depreciate the com- 
modity he wants, and the true value of which he 
knows. Every artifice in trade which, by innuendo or 
positive assertion, sacrifices the truth, is dishonest. 
Yet these expedients are so common as to create 
general distrust where there should be mutual confi- 
dence; and it is only by superior dexterity, that they 
are made to answer their purpose. It is a sad state 
of things when the confiding are laughed at for their 
simplicity, and overreached because they are not 
adepts in the tricks of trade. To say that these arts 
have become necessary, is to justify an evil on the 
ground of its prevalence. For all the purposes of 
general trade, they are useless; for while they may 
impose on some, their very existence puts most men 
on their guard, and thus they defeat themselves. 

Not to dwell on the enormity of the sin of dis- 
honesty, how much better, in all points of view, 
would it be, if men of business would speak truly 
and act fairly. In the long run, honesty is the best 
policy; and many a bitter self-accusation, and many 
a pang of remorse would be saved, if its dictates were 
strictly obeyed. Let all remember that the curse of 
God rests on dishonest gains ; they are often blasted 
in this world, and bring an everlasting blight on the 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



69 



soul. How can a man be profited in gaining the 
world at such an expense! 

In all my transactions with men, may I do to others 
as I would wish others to do to me ; and may it be 
my determination to possess little, with a pure con- 
science, rather than much by fraudulent arts. If 
tempted to dishonesty, may I remember the great day 
of account, when every minute concern of life will 
pass in review before the Judge of the world ; and 
may I spurn the action, which, however it might 
enrich, would degrade and demoralize. 



7 



70 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



SURETYSHIP. 



He that is surety for a stranger 
shall smart for it: and he that 
hateth suretyship is sure. 

A man void of understanding 
striketh hands, and becometh 



surety in the presence of his 
friend. 

Be not thou one of them that 
strike hands, or of them that are 
sureties for debts. 



A surety is one, who becomes responsible, by bond 
or promise, for the debts of another, putting himself, 
in the eye of the law, in the place of the principal, 
in case of his failure to meet his obligations. We are 
not to suppose that Solomon meant utterly to con- 
demn the principle of suretyship, because in some 
cases, it may be entered into with entire safety to our- 
selves and with great advantage to our neighbour; 
but his maxims are directed against rash and incon- 
siderate engagements of this nature. Before an indi- 
vidual becomes surety for another, he should reflect 
that he thus becomes responsible for the consequences, 
not only of the misfortune, but the neglect, extrava- 
gance and dishonesty of his principal; for in either of 
these cases the principal may fail and the bondsman 
become liable. Prudence dictates, that before such 
an engagement is made, the ability and general good 
character of the individual to be served, should be 
well considered. From want of this forecast many 
have not only exposed themselves to bankruptcy, but 
inflicted serious injuries on their families, by exposing 
them to the privations of poverty. 

It is a good rule seldom to ask such favours of 
others, and to reciprocate them in like proportion; 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



71 



and it is a rule which justice and honesty demand, 
that suretyship should never cover a larger amount, 
than can be jeoparded without injury to our families 
and creditors. If we go beyond this we act rashly 
and unwisely, and consequent suffering is the result 
of our folly. Trade can be more safely conducted on 
the basis of real than supposititious capital, and if our 
gains be less, they are at least more sure. It is the 
desire for rapid acquisitions that has rendered surety- 
ship so common, in which the ruin of one involves 
the interests of many. In the case of a poor neigh- 
bour, a gift or loan, according to our ability, is better 
than a bond. 

While I am reminded that I may not rashly endan- 
ger the property, which the providence of God has 
bestowed on me for the support of those dependent 
on me, I should not suffer a too rigid prudence to steel 
my heart against the misfortunes of others. There 
is a use as well as an abuse of the principle. Paul's 
suretyship for Onesimus may be to me an example of 
the use, and the too common practice of the world 
affords examples of the abuse. 

I would desire to be reminded too by this subject, 
of Him who became my great surety in a much high- 
er sense. As a spiritual bankrupt, I was exposed to 
eternal imprisonment, from which there was no re- 
lease, until I had paid the uttermost farthing; but 
Christ took my place, assumed my obligations, paid 
my debt, and thus delivered me from the disastrous 
consequences of my failure to meet my engagements. 
Blessed be his name for this act of disinterested fa- 
vour, by which the claims of God, my great Creditor, 
were fully satisfied, while I was restored to my for- 
feited honours and possessions. 



72 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



IOU 



Seest thou a man diligent in his 
business? he shall stand before 
kings; he shall not stand before 
mean men. 

Be thou diligent to know the 
state of thy flocks, and look well 
to thy herds. 

For riches are not for ever : and 
doth the crown endure to every 
generation? 

He becometh poor that dealeth 
with a slack hand: but the hand 
of the diligent maketh rich. 

The hand of the diligent shall 



STRY. 



bear rule : but the slothful shall be 
under tribute. 

Love not sleep, lest thou come 
to poverty : open thine eyes, and 
thou shalt be satisfied with 
bread. 

He that tilleth his land shall 
have plenty of bread : but he that 
followeth after vain persons shall 
have poverty enough. 

The soul of the sluggard de- 
sireth, and hath nothing : but the 
soul of the diligent shall be made 
fat. * 



We are so constituted by the God that formed us, that 
fixed employment tends to the invigoration of mind 
and body, and is thus promotive of our personal hap- 
piness. The disuse of our faculties, whether intel- 
lectual or corporeal, prepares the way for their prema- 
ture decay; and the divine providence has benevo- 
lently designed, that our means of subsistence should 
mainly depend on our own exertions, that we might 
thus have an adequate motive for calling our faculties 
into healthful exercise. It is a real unhappiness to be 
without employment, as experience eventually proves; 
and the life of leisure, at which so many aim as the 
chief good, is always more agreeable in anticipation, 
than in actual possession. Time that hangs as a bur- 
den on the shoulders of the indolent, passes along with 
sprightly steps and cheerful smiles to him that is use- 
fully employed; so that it may be said, that industry 
is not only a good medicine, but an agreeable pastime. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



73 



Whatever may be our calling, in that we should la- 
bour diligently; this is the intimation of reason, as 
well as the requirement of Scripture. 

It is a Christian duty; for he that provides not for 
his own household is worse than an infidel; and it is 
an absurdity to expect that God will provide for those 
who will not exert themselves ; for if a man will not 
work neither should he eat. The Christian should, in 
his industrious habits, be a model to all around him, 
since to all other motives, he may be presumed to 
have the superadded one, that, thus he honours God, 
who has required him to be diligent in business. 

The duty being manifest, the Christian should re- 
member that it is not an exclusive one. If we are 
to be diligent in our secular vocation, we are not to 
suffer it so to preoccupy the mind and absorb the at- 
tention, as not to leave a full measure of time for 
those duties which more immediately bear on our 
spiritual well-being. Some seem to regard honesty 
and diligence in business as the sum and substance of 
true religion, and if they neglect those duties which 
more immediately relate to God and their own souls, 
they, with evident self-satisfaction, urge in excuse, 
that they cannot spare the time from their ordinary 
occupation. This is to convert duty into sin, and to 
reverse the divine rule, "seek first the kingdom of 
God and his righteousness, and all these things shall 
be added unto you." No one is justified in giving his 
whole attention to even lawful occupations; and He 
who best knows the superior value of the soul to the 
the body, sanctions no engagements of a secular kind 
which preclude attention to the welfare of the soul. 
" Diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the 

7* 



74 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



Lord," are consistent duties, and should not be dis- 
united. 

In all situations, as a Christian, I am required to 
be an example to others. As I should not eat the 
bread of idleness, I am bound to give attention to my 
peculiar calling and work that I may eat. Far be it 
from me, however, to be so absorbed in these earthly 
pursuits as to neglect my higher destiny. I have to 
work out my own salvation, and this requires indus- 
try. If I only labour for the body, I am laying up 
riches in bags with holes; there is more enduring 
wealth, the acquisition of which requires my best and 
freshest efforts. Lord, may I principally labour to 
lay up treasure in heaven, where moth and rust do 
not corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



75 



SLOTHFULNESS. 



Go to the ant, thou sluggard: 
consider her ways, and be wise : 

Which having no guide, over- 
seer, or ruler, 

Provideth her meat in the sum- 
mer, and gathereth her food in 
the harvest. 

How long wilt thou sleep, O 
sluggard? when wilt thou arise 
out of thy sleep ? 

Yet a little sleep, a little slum- 
ber, a little folding of the hands 
to sleep: 

So shall thy poverty come as 
one that travelleth, and thy want 
as an armed man. 

The slothful man saith, There 
is a lion in the way ; a lion is in 
the streets. 

As the door turneth upon his 
hinges, so doth the slothful upon 
his bed. 

The slothful hideth his hand 
in his bosom ; it grieveth him to 
bring it again to his mouth. 

The sluggard is wiser in his 
own conceit than seven men that 
can render a reason. 

I went by the field of the sloth- 
ful, and by the vineyard of the 
man void of understanding; 

And lo, it was all grown over 



with thorns, and nettles had cover- 
ed the face thereof, and the stone 
wall thereof was broken down. 

Then I saw, and considered it 
well: I looked upon it, and re- 
ceived instruction. 

Yet a little sleep, a little slum- 
ber, a little folding of the hands 
to sleep : 

So shall thy poverty come as 
one that travelleth ; and thy want 
as an armed man. 

Slothfulness casteth into a deep 
sleep ; and an idle soul shall suffer 
hunger. 

The desire of the slothful killeth 
him; for his hands refuse to la- 
bour. 

The sluggard will not plow by 
reason of the cold ; therefore shall 
he beg in harvest, and have no- 
thing. 

He also that is slothful in his 
work is brother to him that is a 
great waster. 

As vinegar to the teeth, and as 
smoke to the eyes, so is the slug- 
gard to them that send him. 

He that gathereth in summer 
is a wise son : but he that sleepeth 
in harvest is a son that causeth 
shame. 



The opposite of the virtue just treated, is here most 
strikingly and graphically portrayed. Solomon dwells 
emphatically on the vice of slothfulness, as if his soul 
had been disgusted with numerous examples of it in 
practical life around him. It is the besetting sin of 
oriental countries, which is, in a measure, to be attri- 
buted to the enervating influence of climate; but 



76 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



even under these circumstances it is inexcusable. To 
their inhabitants, rest and inaction constitute the chief 
luxury of life, and it requires determination of mind 
to shake off this indolence of disposition. Numerous 
examples of it are not wanting even where the influ- 
ence of climate cannot be pleaded as an apology. 
The occupations of regular business are to many an 
intolerable burden; and did not necessity compel ex- 
ertion, they would doze away existence in doing 
nothing. 

Slothfulness is not merely a negative quality, but a 
positive vice. Its example is pernicious to the com- 
munity, and its prevalence would loosen the bonds of 
society. The work-shops would be deserted, the 
fields lie untilled, commerce cease, and literature have 
no ardent students; and the ultimate consequence 
would be, that the supply of the necessaries and com- 
forts of life would be cut off. 

Where this disposition is indulged it soon brings its 
just reward. Solomon graphically depicts the estate 
of the sluggard which has run to waste, while he 
folds his hands to sleep. Did its consequences stop 
there, it would be" a limited evil, as its effects would 
be chiefly confined to the delinquents themselves ; 
but it is a diffusive poison, and as the encourager and 
promoter of all other vices, it becomes seriously hurt- 
ful to the community. Those who cast away the 
restraints of regular occupation are the devil's readiest 
instruments for every evil work. The slothful would 
rather beg and steal than work, and the mass of those 
who crowd the alms-houses and jails, as paupers and 
felons, may trace their degradation and ruin to their 
disinclination for industrious habits. Let the words 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



77 



of the wise man be pondered, and from the fate of 
the sluggard let us receive instruction. 

If bodily sloth is so injurious, how much more, my 
soul, is spiritual sluggishness ! Thou hast a great 
work to perform; there are impetuous lusts to be cru- 
cified, an ensnaring world to be overcome, and a hea- 
ven to win, and canst thou afford to be idle? Cease 
to be vigilant, and thou wilt be surprised; neglect the 
work of God, and the great adversary will seduce thee 
into his service. Remember that here is not thy rest, 
but thou lookest for one to come. Whatever then, 
thou findest to do, do it with thy might, for the night 
cometh when no man can work. To the faithful 
steward alone shall the welcome be given, " well done 
good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of 
thy Lord." 



78 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



EICHES. 



Riches profit not in the day of 
wrath : but righteousness deliver- 
eth from death. 

How much better is it to get 
wisdom than gold ! and to get 
understanding rather to be chosen 
than silver ! 

He that is greedy of gain trou- 
bleth his own house ; but he that 
hateth gifts shall live. 

In the house of the righteous is 
much treasure : but in the reve- 
nues of the wicked is trouble. 

Treasures of wickedness profit 
nothing: but righteousness deliv- 
ereth from death, 

The Lord will not suffer the 
soul of the righteous to famish: 
but he casteth away the substance 
of the wicked. 

_ Wealth gotten by vanity shall 
be diminished: but he that ga- 
thereth by labour shall increase. 

He that trusteth in his riches 
shall fall : but the righteous shall 
flourish as a branch. 

The getting of treasures by a 
lying tongue is a vanity tossed 
to and fro of them that seek 
death. 

There is that maketh himself 



rich, yet hath nothing : there is 
that maketh himself poor, yet hath 
great riches. 

Labour not to be rich : cease 
from thine own wisdom. 

Wilt thou set thine eyes upon 
that which is not ? for riches cer- 
tainly make themselves wings; 
they fly away as an eagle toward 
heaven. 

A good man leaveth an inherit- 
ance to his children's children : 
and the wealth of the sinner is 
laid up for the just. 

An inheritance may be gotten 
hastily at the beginning ; but the 
end thereof shall not be blessed. 

He that by usury and unjust 
gain increaseth his substance, he 
shall gather it for him that will 
pity the poor. 

A faithful man shall abound 
with blessings : but he that maketh 
haste to be rich shall not be in- 
nocent. 

Honour the Lord with thy sub- 
stance, x and with the first fruits of 
all thine increase : 

So shall thy barns be filled with 
plenty, and thy presses shall burst 
out with new wine. 



It is possible, and perhaps not uncommon, for those 
who possess no wealth, to moralize on its vanity, 
from mere chagrin; but here we have the reflections 
of one who could be influenced by no such motive. 
Solomon " made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plen- 
teous as stones and he had the most ample expe- 
rience of all the pleasures, power, and dignity, which 
their unlimited use could confer. He was not only 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



79 



the wisest, but wealthiest monarch of the East; and 
yet when he contemplated his overflowing treasury, 
he could emphatically say that wealth was vanity and 
wisdom better than gold. 

Riches are not to be contemned, for they are often 
the gift of a kind providence, and may prove a bless- 
ing to their possessor. They become an evil only 
by perversion. The Scriptures do not affirm that 
money is the root of all evil, but the love of it, which, 
in fact, is too generally associated with its possession. 
Even when lawfully acquired, it requires a strong 
counterpoise of grace to keep the affections from 
resting on it. 

The desire for wealth is almost universal. It is 
looked on as a talisman by which all the ills of life 
are to be expelled; and in its acquisition, no toils are 
too severe to be endured, no dangers too threatening 
to be encountered, and truth requires us to say, no 
vice is too odious or flagrant to be perpetrated. 
Treachery, fraud, robbery, and murder, have often 
been the means of acquiring it. Some seek it that 
they may spend it on their lusts, and others, that they 
may hoard it with a miser's jealousy. Worthy mo- 
tives may impel to its acquisition, but oftener it is 
sought for, under the most artful and self-deceiving 
pretexts. 

Wealth unlawfully acquired is always a curse to its 
possessor; and generally a curse entailed upon his 
family. The revenue of the wicked is trouble, and 
it eats like a canker. How many are hurried by it 
into vice ! For how many does it prepare a prema- 
ture grave! Alas! how many are sunk by it into the 
regions of remorse and despair! 

Even when acquired by honest industry, undue at- 



SO FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 

tachment to it may lead to similar disasters. Devo- 
tional habits are exchanged for worldly ones, the fires 
of the household altar are extinguished ; the children 
of high promise become worthless, and that which 
has been so eagerly sought after, as an antidote to 
the ills of life, becomes its bane. Often do we see 
men, who seemed to live for heaven, become grovel- 
ling and lost to those finer and more dignified feel- 
ings which once animated them; and not unfrequently 
are we called to contemplate the miserable spectacle 
of a man who, when possessed of little, lived in joyful 
confidence on the promises of God, shrinking, amidst 
his crowded coffers, in imaginary dread of a coming 
poverty; ill used wealth, being thus deprived, by the 
judgment of God, of even the insignificant power of 
securing its possessor against the apprehensions of 
starvation. 

The true use of riches is to employ them rightly, 
as the stewards of God. Whether there be one talent 
or ten, the eternal Judge will exact a strict account of 
their use, and wo to the rich man who deals unfaith- 
fully with his trust. Money religiously employed in 
feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, carrying com- 
fort to the poor, and spiritual illumination to the desti- 
tute, never acquires that rust which eats the flesh as 
it were fire. On the contrary, it does good to the 
giver and receiver; it meets the divine approbation, 
and secures the divine blessing. If it be extremely 
difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of 
heaven, and we are assured on the highest authority 
that it is, it is not because riches necessarily oppose 
an obstacle in the way of salvation ; but because they 
are so generally in the hands of unfaithful stewards, 
who, surrounded by innumerable opportunities of 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



81 



doing good, are still heartless idolaters of their wealth, 
and look with cool indifference on the calamities of a 
sin-stricken world. Infinitely better is it to be poor, 
than to be rich with such a disposition. To comprise 
all in a word, repress the love of money, let not its 
acquisition be the master aim of life, and if, in the 
providence of God, it be sent, be solicitous so to use 
it, that God may be glorified, mankind benefited, and 
your own souls uninjured. 

My soul, let thy prayer be that thou mayest not 
love the world nor the things of the world. If riches 
increase, set not thy affections on them, but ask for 
heavenly wisdom to direct in their proper distribution. 
They are not thine, but only lent, and God will re- 
quire his own with usury. Be not dissatisfied if thou 
art poor in this world's goods, for thus art thou freed 
from many temptations; and be not uplifted if rich, 
for either thy riches may suddenly wing their flight 
from thee, or thou mayest be called hence and leave 
them behind. Rest not thy hope in wealth; the fire 
may consume, the floods drown, the earthquake in- 
gulf, or fraud strip thee of all thy possessions. But 
there are enduring riches ; seek for them, and let thy 
affections be with them in heaven. They alone are 
secure against the fires of the final conflagration. 



8 



82 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



THE 



All the brethren of the poor do 
hate him ; how much more do his 
friends go far from him ? he pur- 
sueth them with words, yet they 
are wanting to him. 

Better is the poor that walketh 
in his integrity, than he that is 
perverse in his lips, and is a 
fool. 

The rich and poor meet toge- 
ther : the Lord is the maker of 
them all. 

Rob not the poor, because he is 
poor: neither oppress the afflicted 
in the gate : 

For the Lord will plead their 



POOR. 



cause, and spoil the soul of those 
that spoiled them. 

He that oppresseth the poor re- 
proacheth his Maker, but jie that 
honoureth him hath mercy on the 
poor. 

There is a generation, whose 
teeth are as swords, and their jaw 
teeth as knives, to devour the poor 
from off the earth, and the needy 
from among men. 

The poor is hated, even of his 
own neighbour, but the rich hath 
many friends. 

He that has mercy on the poor, 
happy is he. 



Poverty is a condition in life, which is not neces- 
sarily connected with any particular grade of moral 
character; in itself it is neither a reproach nor a me- 
rit, and it may be associated with the highest worth 
or the greatest turpitude. A man can no more be 
entitled to heaven on account of his poverty, than he 
can on account of his wealth ; although we have rea- 
son to believe that the former condition is more favour- 
able to the cultivation of the Christian temper. Both 
conditions have their peculiar temptations, but those 
of wealth are the most formidable. We should, how- 
ever, distinguish between the poverty which has re- 
sulted from vice, and that which befals a person in the 
ordinary course of the divine providence. Whilst the 
former is ordinarily the worst possible condition of hu- 
man life, the latter may prove the most favourable to 
virtue. We say this in full view of the usual attend- 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



83 



ants of poverty. The poor are generally neglected, 
often despised, and, as Solomon says, even " hated by 
his own neighbours their opinions are little regard- 
ed, their friendship unsought, and their fate contem- 
plated without concern ; but all this may prove emi- 
nently serviceable in weaning them from the world 
and fixing their thoughts on heaven. Although 
wealth may confer artificial distinctions, it cannot 
purchase happiness; but poverty may be dignified by 
virtue, and consist with true enjoyment. It is not the 
privilege of the rich to despise the poor, nor is it justi- 
fiable in the poor to envy and hate the rich. Differing, 
as they do, in outward circumstances, in the sight of 
God they meet together on an equality, and " He is 
the ruler of them all." 

For the poor there should be sympathy, not of that 
kind which expends itself in words of condolence, 
and which merely says, " be ye warmed and be ye 
filled;" but that which, while it consoles and lightens 
the sorrows of the poor, more substantially aids in 
diminishing their burdens. It is our sacred duty to 
minister to the wants of the needy; and perhaps one 
of the heaviest items in the account of the rich, will 
be their indifference and heartlessness towards their 
suffering brethren, who would be satisfied with the 
crumbs of their superfluity. 

That is a noble charity which deviseth liberal things 
and penetrates into the recesses of human wo, to carry 
relief to the wretched. How many are the sons and 
daughters of poverty, whose pangs would be miti- 
gated by the sympathy of the benevolent visitor ; and 
whose beds of sickness and suffering would be soft- 
ened by cheaply purchased comforts. 

If to neglect the poor be a sin, to oppress them 



84 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



is a crime of deeper die. It is both unmanly and base 
to trample on those who are already prostrated, and 
to impose on those, who are incapable of self-defence. 
To grind the faces of the poor by exacting labour 
without suitable remuneration, is a heinous crime. 
The cry of the poor labourer, who is defrauded of his 
wages, will be heard by the Most High; and espe- 
cially will unprotected and destitute females, who 
abound in our large cities, and are suffered to pine 
away in poverty, while ceaselessly toiling to minister 
to the comforts and luxuries of the rich, find an al- 
mighty Advocate, who will defend their cause, and 
" spoil the soul of those who spoiled them." 

Remember, my soul, that He that was rich in all 
the attributes of Godhead, became poor that thou, 
through his poverty, mightest become rich. During his 
earthly ministry, he chose to be poor; the poor he 
sought as his companions; from them he selected his 
disciples; to them he most graciously ministered. 
Imitate his example. Despise not those whom he re- 
garded with favour; oppress not those whom it was 
his delight to relieve. If thou woulclst have self- 
satisfaction, have mercy on the poor ; if thou wouldst 
lend to the Lord, freely disburse thy charities. Thou 
wast poor, when Jesus enriched thee by his grace ; 
and it is thy duty not only to relieve the bodily wants 
of the poor, but to instruct them in the way of salva- 
tion, that they may become heirs of the kingdom. If 
thou shouldst be reduced to want thyself, repine not 
at thy lot; but aim more steadfastly at that inherit- 
ance which is incorruptible in the heavens. Be poor 
in spirit, and rich in faith and every good work. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



85 



MERCY AND CRUELTY. 



The merciful man doeth good 
to his own soul: but he that is 
cruel troubleth his own flesh. 

If thou forbear to deliver them 
that are drawn unto death, and 
those that are ready to be slain; 

If thou sayest, Behold, we knew 
it not; doth not he that pondereth 
the heart consider it? and he 
that keepeth thy soul, doth not he 



know it? and shall not he ren- 
der to every man according to his 
works ? 

Whoso mocketh the poor re- 
proacheth his Maker : and he that 
is glad at calamities shall not be 
unpunished. 

A righteous man regardeth the 
life of his beast: but the tender 
mercies of the wicked are cruel. 



A beautiful exemplification of a humane and mer- 
ciful disposition is presented to us in the conduct of 
the Samaritan towards the Jew, who had been robbed 
and wounded on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho. 
The Priest and Levite had unfeelingly deserted their 
hapless countryman to his fate; but the Samaritan, 
notwithstanding the bitter feud subsisting between 
his own nation and that of the Jews, no sooner be- 
held his condition, than, extinguishing every feeling 
of national hostility, he ran to his succour, and left him 
not until he had placed him in a situation of comfort 
and safety. 

As an extreme example of the contrary disposition, 
we adduce the horrid cruelties perpetrated by the 
Spanish Inquisitors, than which, nothing can better 
illustrate the atrocious barbarity, of which the heart 
of man can become guilty, under circumstances fa- 
vourable to its development. 

Under suitable cultivation, the finer sensibilities of 
the heart may be preserved and improved; and by a 
different treatment they may easily be blunted, and 

8* 



86 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



ultimately obliterated. Cruelty may be traced back, 
through various gradations, to an unfeeling disregard 
of another's welfare. In its first acts, it may be 
scarcely noticed, in its maturer exhibitions it is fright- 
ful and appalling. The man who has become a mon- 
ster of iniquity, with a heart dead to every generous 
impulse, was once a child, playful and comparatively 
innocent; then he would shrink instinctively at an act 
of cruelty, now he can. without compunction imbrue 
his hands in the blood of his fellow-man. Cruelty to 
inferior animals is often the precursor of that which is 
of a darker hue. 

Such is the virtue, and such its opposite vice. 
To possess the first, every humane feeling must be 
carefully cherished, and the heart be made to respond 
to every cry of misery. Repeated acts of benevo- 
lence will impart vigour to a merciful disposition; 
while every feeling of inhumanity will tend to foster 
the opposite disposition. 

It is a characteristic trait of heathenism that it is 
cruel, and its spirit is observable not only in the so- 
cial relations, but in the character of its gods and the 
bloody rites of its religion. The spirit of Christianity, 
on the contrary, is merciful; and the institutions of 
pure benevolence, which spring up under its fostering 
influence, as a refuge for the poor and suffering, are 
an exemplification of its benign character. Those 
who have imbibed most of its spirit are most intent 
on mitigating human suffering, and most assiduous in 
ministering to the miserable. He that can causelessly 
inflict pain on another, or triumph in his calamity, has 
not the spirit of Him who wept over the miseries which 
were about to befal his relentless persecutors. 

While humanity is shocked at the career of a Caesar 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



87 



or a Napoleon, who purchased their fame at the ex- 
pense of slaughtered millions; or of a Nero or a Robes- 
pierre, who delighted in acts of cold-blooded murder; 
our better nature admires the spirit of the dauntless 
Howard, whose life was sacrificed to his philanthro- 
py; or of the gentle Cowper, who could not inflict 
pain on the meanest of God's creatures ; or of the 
self-denying missionary, who, in imitation of his Mas- 
ter, goes on his errand of mercy to distant climes to 
seek and restore the lost. 

Do I expect mercy of God? I must myself be mer- 
ciful. Those acts should delight me most, which re- 
lieve the distressed and wipe away the tear of sorrow. 
The world is full of suffering. Sin has desolated its 
fairest scenes ; in every direction we hear the cries of 
distress and the wail of broken hearts ; and is not this 
a field in which I am called to act my part, in sooth- 
ing the disconsolate? I must not only be careful not 
to add to this amount of misery, but strive to dimi- 
nish it. If others can sport with the calamities of 
their fellow-men, let me regard every man as a bro- 
ther, and run to his relief. This is my duty ; it should 
be my privilege and pleasure. Thus will I best honour 
my Master and profit myself; for "the merciful man 
doeth good to his own soul." 



88 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



PRUDENCE. 



A prudent man foreseeth the 
evil, and hideth himself; but the 
simple pass on, and are punish- 
ed. 

Every prudent man dealethwith 



knowledge ; but a fool layeth open 
his folly. 

The simple believeth every word: 
but the prudent man looketh well to 
his going. 



Prudence is only another name for wisdom carried 
out into practice, in the various relations of life. It 
implies both intelligence and self-control. In the 
management of worldly business, in the conduct of 
domestic affairs, and in the regulation of general so- 
cial intercourse, it is a quality of inestimable value. 
There is no relation of life from which it can be safe- 
ly excluded. Without the counsels of prudence, the 
ruler would involve his government in inextricable 
confusion; without prudent plans, the man of busi- 
ness, instead of gathering in his profits, would squan- 
der his capital; in its absence, the affairs of the 
household would run into disorder and waste; and in 
our intercourse with others, unless prudence be ob- 
served, friendship would be broken, and the peace of 
neighbourhoods destroyed. In influencing our con- 
duct, it suggests the best way of acting, and the right 
and safe way of speaking. By prudent management 
a newly married couple who start in life together, 
with little or nothing to depend on from others, will- 
soon be seen emerging from their straitened circum- 
stances into competency, if not wealth; while, on the 
contrary, the largest inherited fortunes are melted 
down and lost, not merely by profligacy, but from a 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



89 



simple want of this quality. A prudent person, who 
knows when to speak and when to remain silent, who 
is careful to discriminate between what ought to be 
said and what should be withheld, will not only save 
himself much trouble, but prove eminently service- 
able to his fellow-creatures. Even religion may be 
rendered repulsive, by a disregard of prudential con- 
siderations in those who advocate it. A minister of 
the gospel may, by an imprudent remark from the 
pulpit, effectually alienate the affections of his flock; 
and parents often defeat their best hopes, in relation 
to their offspring, by not wisely considering the times 
and modes in which they may most favourably im- 
press religious truth on their minds and hearts. An 
imprudent remark, made without intentional evil, will 
often prove as injurious in its results, as a hostile or 
slanderous one; and an imprudent determination not 
unfrequently brings in its train, effects as detrimental 
to our own interests, or those of our fellow-men, as 
positive dishonesty. This defect of character, which 
is rather looked on as an infirmity than a vice, is thus 
not only productive of the evils which are the natural 
results of vices, but is, in some respects, less easily 
guarded against; for a man will encounter less dan- 
ger from the hostility of an avowed enemy, than from 
the imprudence of a well-meaning friend. 

While we thus by no means exaggerate the advan- 
tages of prudence, both in a secular and religious 
point of view; we should be careful to distinguish 
it from an over cautious, calculating, selfish, and cow- 
ardly spirit, which often takes shelter under its name. 
A man will often refuse to make any trivial sacrifice 
for a friend, decline contributing to objects unques- 
tionably excellent and charitable, and even stand 



90 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



aloof when the claims of religion are calling him to 
action, and excuse himself under the plea of pruden- 
tial considerations. No rule can be laid down for 
discriminating between the true and counterfeit in this 
respect, but that which is dictated by an enlightened 
conscience. A man must have blinded his own mind, 
if he be not conscious when he acts from genuine 
prudence, or those selfish feelings, which are so odious 
in themselves, as to require an assumed name to ap- 
pear respectable. 

My soul, how necessary is it that thou shouldst be 
as wise as the serpent and as harmless as the dove. 
Not only thine own interests, but those of thy fellow- 
men, and, in a measure, those of the kingdom of 
Christ, are entrusted to thee. How necessary, there- 
fore, that thou shouldst have wisdom from above, for 
the regulation of thy conduct. Seek heavenly direc- 
tion, that neither in speech or behaviour, thou mayest 
do that which will injure thyself or thy neighbour, 
disturb the kindly relations thou sustainest to others, 
or bring reproach on the cause of Christ. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



91 



CHEERFULNESS. 



A merry heart doeth good like 
a medicine ; but a broken spirit 
drieth the bones. 

All the days of the afflicted are 
eviL: but he that is of a merry 
heart hath a continual feast. 



A merry heart maketh a cheer- 
ful countenance : but by sorrow of 
the heart the spirit is broken. 

Even in laughter the heart is 
sorrowful ; and the end of that 
mirth is heaviness. 



There is an unspeakable difference between profane 
mirth and Christian cheerfulness. The libertine will 
exclaim, " Let us eat and drink for to-morrow we die; 
let us seize the pleasures which present themselves, 
casting care to the winds ; and if our life is to be short, 
at least let it be a merry one." How many insanely 
act on this maxim, and give a free scope to their sen- 
sual indulgences, regardless alike of the dictates of 
reason and Scripture ; and, as if they had no higher 
destination than the brutes that perish, close their eyes 
upon the retributions of eternity. Of such it may be 
truly said, "wo unto you that laugh now, for ye shall 
lament." Their hilarity is soon to be clouded by 
sickness, and as the shades of death gather around 
them, the light of hope will be extinguished, and the 
brief season of fitful pleasure will be succeeded by 
" weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth." 

Not so the Christian. His cheerfulness illuminates 
his countenance, refreshes like a feast, and is as salu- 
brious as a medicine. Religion when viewed at a 
distance, through the discoloured medium of this 
world, may wear a repulsive aspect; and like a sweet 
landscape in nature, seen through a haze or by a de- 



92 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



fective eye, may seem divested of every charm. It 
enjoins self-denial, requires rigid adherence to strict 
rules, makes a light estimate of the most valued pos- 
sessions of earth, is much in converse with death and 
judgment, and these are the only features of it which 
are discernible by the mere spectator. He accordingly 
infers that it is unfriendly to enjoyment and enshroud- 
ed in gloom. Pretenders to religion, and even Chris- 
tians, who are ill-informed and weak in faith, not sel- 
dom give countenance to this false impression by re- 
pelling cheerfulness, as a temptation of Satan; and 
imagining that a habitually clouded brow is the most 
appropriate index of a right state of heart. Need we 
say how mistaken their opinion? 

It is true there is a mirth that is unseemly, and a 
jesting which is not convenient in the Christian. 
Frivolity ill becomes his character, as one who is in 
daily expectation of a summons to the tribunal of 
God. Still it is the privilege of every heaven-born 
soul to " rejoice always." Even when weeping in 
penitence, he may rejoice in hope; when mourning 
over the ruined condition of the world, he may be 
glad at his own deliverance. Who has a right to be 
cheerful, if not the Christian? All valuable things 
are his by divine legacy. If he cannot command the 
luxuries which pamper the appetite, he has, besides 
the hidden manna, food convenient for him; and these 
necessaries are made sure to him by promise. If he 
cannot boast of gay and costly apparel, he is clothed 
with the pure white raiment, which renders him 
beautiful in the eyes of heavenly beings. If he can- 
not stretch forth his hands and point to his rich do- 
mains, he can lift them up and exultingly point to the 
skies, where is his inheritance, incorruptible, unde- 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



93 



filed, and that fadeth not away. He can look within 
and behold the temple of the Holy Ghost, and rejoice 
in the presence of his peace-inspiring influence. Con- 
science, which ceaselessly tracks the footsteps of the 
sensualist, and mars his enjoyment by its dark augu- 
ries for the future, is his friend and counsellor. Hope 
buoys him up amidst the adversities of life ; faith 
points out to him glorious visions yet to be realized, 
and love brings him into sweet communion with hea- 
ven. The bitterness that mingles the cup of the world- 
ling is converted into sweets for him ; the thoughts 
which trouble others cheer him. Affliction is to him 
a blessing; death lays aside his character as a ruthless 
executioner, and becomes his pioneer and guide to the 
land of endless delights. 

Should not a Christian be cheerful ? Should he not 
have a song in the house of his pilgrimage? He tra- 
vels on his own King's highway under a safe escort ; 
no muttering thunder alarms, no lurid lightning flash- 
es dismay; in God he has a friend, in the Son of 
God an elder brother, and he is hastening towards 
a possession, where his joys will be unspeakable and 
full of glory. Happy, thrice happy the man that is 
in such a case as this! 

My soul, does the candle of the Lord shine upon 
thee, and does light beam in upon thy soul from the 
face of a reconciled God? If so, be glad in the Lord. 
Let the joy of thine heart shine out on thy counte- 
nance, as an index of the happiness that reigns within. 
Redeemed by the precious blood of the cross, thou hast 
overcome the fears and escaped the pains of hell. How 
wonderful thy deliverance, and how joyfully should it 
be celebrated! The angels of heaven held a jubilee 
when thou didst repent, and since thou art turned to the 

9 



94 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



Lord, thou mayest well participate in their gladness. 
Honour thy Master and his glorious work, by joyfully 
recalling to thy mind all the way in which the Lord 
has led thee. Go to his house and partake of his or- 
dinances with joy. Fulfil his commands, and endure 
his chastisements with joy. Receive his daily favours 
and submit to his blessed will with joy. Contemplate 
death, as thy joyful release from all remaining infir- 
mities and sins, and lay thy body in the grave in the 
joyful hope of a glorious resurrection and immor- 
tality. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



95 



KEEPING THE HEART. 

Keep thy heart with all diligence ; for out of it are 
the issues of life. 

As the heart is the seat of all the principles of action, 
which give form and tone to the character of man, it 
may, with great propriety, be said, that as is the heart, 
so is the man. A right state of the affections will issue 
in life, while a contrary state will have a totally oppo- 
site issue. The Christian religion justifies its claim to 
the reverence of men, from the very circumstance that 
it deals with the motives and principles of action, as 
well as with the actions themselves; that it demands 
more than an exterior correctness, and determines cha- 
racter upon better data than mere outward appearance. 
It may be a sufficient recommendation to men, that an 
individual is unimpeachable in his deportment; but in 
our relations with God, the state of the heart is the 
matter of chief consideration. It is true that the life 
is generally a very fair index of the inward feeling, 
but it is quite possible that a mere worldly policy may 
induce a person to conceal the real sentiments of his 
heart, and even to act in opposition to them. Thus, 
to all appearance, a man may be our friend, while 
at heart he cherishes a spirit of implacable enmity; or 
he may be ceremoniously religious, while his heart is 
not right in the sight of God. Christ, who is the true 
expositor of the divine law, traces all genuine obe- 
dience to right principles, and insists that no outward 
conformity to the law will avail, unless it proceeds 



96 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



from sanctified affections. The tree must be good 
before the fruit can be so, and, in like manner, there 
can be no genuine religion, unless the heart feels and 
acknowledges the teachings and restraints of divine 
grace. There is much implied in the expression, 
"God looketh upon the heart;" and he does it that he 
may see whether its thoughts are holy, its feelings 
spiritual, its passions controlled, its inclinations hea- 
ven-directed. Whose experience does not corroborate 
the declaration of Christ, "out of the heart proceed 
evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, 
false witness, blasphemies?" These are the deadly 
issues of an unsanctified heart; and it is only by 
going to this polluted fountain and correcting it, that 
there can be issues of life. 

Hence we see the force of the injunction, "keep 
thy heart with all diligence." Great pains are re- 
quisite to success, for the very reason that the heart is 
not easily kept. It is deceitful, it is desperately wicked. 
Its natural inclinations are evil, they resist subjection 
to the law of God; and hence the necessity of super- 
natural aid, to change their direction. The thoughts 
are to be kept from wandering; the desires from 
being worldly; the passions from being sensual. We 
are to keep the heart in the fear of God, in the love 
of God, and in all holy obedience. To use the lan- 
guage of another, "we must maintain a holy jealousy 
of ourselves, and set a strict guard accordingly, upon 
all the avenues of the soul; keep our hearts from 
doing hurt and getting hurt; from being defiled by 
sin and disturbed by trouble; keep them as our jewel, 
as our vineyard; keep a conscience void of offence; 
keep out bad thoughts, keep up good thoughts; keep 
the affections on right objects and in due bounds." 



FOUNTAIN OP WISDOM. 



97 



And to all this carefulness and strictness, we should 
be impelled by the consideration, that only from a 
heart well kept can come the issues of life. 

0 my soul, engaged as thou art in conflict with the 
law in thy members, art thou not persuaded of the 
necessity of diligently guarding thyself against the 
intrusion of thy enemies? Thought is subtle, and 
thou must restrain its wanderings ; thy appetites 
and desires are lawless, and thou must hold them 
in check. Thy foes are numerous and artful, and 
thou must guard every avenue against their entrance. 
Wouldst thou have life and peace, thou must have 
holiness ; and holiness thou canst not have unless 
thou art vigilant, diligent, and faithful. Keep thyself 
in the fear of God; keep aloof from sin; keep near 
thy Saviour, and let the life which thou livest be by 
the faith of the Son of God. Forget not, that, in thus 
keeping thyself, thou art kept not by thy own strength, 
but by the power of God through faith unto salvation. 
This is for thy encouragement, as well as for thy se- 
curity. 



9* 



98 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM, 



STEADFASTNESS OF PUEPOSE. 



Let thine eyes look right on, 
and let thine eyelids look straight 
before thee. 

Ponder the path of thy feet, and 



let all thy ways be established. 

Turn not to the right hand nor 
to the left ; remove thy foot from 
evil. 



The experience of every man will teach him, that 
while there is much facility in sinning, difficulties are 
to be surmounted in the accomplishment of every vir- 
tuous purpose. Hence the necessity for decision and 
steadfastness of purpose. To the indolent and unde- 
cided there is ever " a lion in the path," and the ap- 
prehension of difficulty paralyzes their efforts and 
makes them content with inglorious inactivity. Most 
men float with the tide, and as it is easy, they uncon- 
sciously glide onward until, when too late for rescue, 
they find the placid stream converted into the dashing 
rapids and engulphing cataract. Resistance to this 
natural indolence is essential if we would live to any 
good purpose. We must resolve, we must decide, we 
must unappalled encounter every obstacle, and perse- 
vere until we find the difficulties in our path, one after 
another, triumphantly surmounted. 

In ordinary worldly pursuits we discover that they 
only reach the goal who set out with steadfastness of 
purpose. In religion it is still more necessary. Be- 
sides all the unfriendly circumstances from without, 
which conspire to retard our course, we have a cor- 
rupt nature which is fiercely hostile to the dominant 
influence of religion. The contention with the latter 
is more severe than with the former. Were the heart 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



99 



right, we might with comparative ease overcome the 
opposition from without ; but the necessity for resolu- 
tion becomes obvious, when we have to watch the 
traitors within the fortress, as well as the assailants 
without. 

It need scarcely be said, that under such untoward 
circumstances we should hazard nothing on a deter- 
mination made in our own strength. We must have 
help from God. He must strengthen and sanctify our 
purposes. He must infuse vigour into our plans, and 
for his aid, earnest and importunate prayer should be 
offered. The stake is invaluable ; it's security is worth 
a struggle. 

It is a characteristic of some that for a time they 
run well, and are then hindered ; their religion is as 
evanescent "as the morning cloud and early dew 
which passeth away." The secret of their failure is 
the unsteadiness of their purpose. They have not 
sufficiently appreciated the object at which they aim ; 
they have not reckoned the difficulties of the enterprise ; 
and hence their infirm purposes give way under the 
first pressure. Others go through the warfare with a 
heroism which is not to be daunted, and they dream 
not of relaxing, until the crown of victory is achieved. 
What is the secret of their success? They feel the 
value of heaven; they know the salvation of the soul 
is precious; they are persuaded that all the entice- 
ments of sin, however painted to deceive, are ene- 
mies in disguise; they know the prize may be lost by 
compromising, parleying or hesitating, and hence for 
their lives they press toward the mark, with their backs 
to the world and their faces directed heavenward. 
With such determination failure is impossible. The 
most formidable antagonist quails and retires before 



100 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



the Christian, who encounters him in the strength of 
the Lord, and with a firm purpose to conquer. 

My soul, thou hast many enemies watching for thy 
destruction. They are vigilant, powerful, and not to 
be despised. Propose no conditions of amity with 
them. They will deceive. Resolve to resist them 
unto death. Accomplish thy warfare manfully. Jesus 
overcame, and in him thou mayest triumph. He can 
impart strength to thy weak arm, and courage to thy 
failing heart. Persevere, for thy contest will be soon 
over. A few years at most will close thy warfare, and 
then thou wilt be elevated above all adverse influ- 
ences, and as Christ overcame and is set down with 
his Father on his throne, so thou shalt overcome and 
sit down with the Saviour on his throne. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



101 



TRUST IN GOD. 



Trust in the Lord with all thine 
heart; and lean not unto thine 
own understanding. 

Whoso trusteth in the Lord, 
happy is he. 

He that is of a proud heart 
stirreth up strife ; but he that put- 
teth his trust in the Lord, shall 
be made fat. 



The fear of man bringeth a 
snare ; but whoso putteth his trust 
in the Lord shall be safe. 

Every word of God is pure : he 
is a shield unto them that put their 
trust in him. 

Commit thy works unto the 
Lord, and thy thoughts shall be 
established. 



How emphatically does the word of God dissuade 
against a misplaced confidence; and how necessary 
the dissuasive, since it has become one of the most 
striking features of our apostasy, that we are disposed 
to trust in any thing but God. The rich trust in their 
wealth, the wise in their wisdom, the subject in his 
ruler, the sick in his physician, and in short, whatever 
may be our circumstances of want or danger, there is 
always some false refuge to which we are disposed 
to flee. Why should it be so? Has experience justi- 
fied such expedients? On the contrary, is not the 
world strewed with the wrecks of human expecta- 
tions and hopes, which have been built upon the 
sand? He that leans upon the world in any of its 
multifarious contrivances, will, sooner or later, dis- 
cover that he leans upon a broken reed, which will 
pierce, but not sustain him. 

Driven from this alternative, are we left unsupport- 
ed in our weakness and infirmity ? We are not ne- 
cessarily so, for there is One, in whom we can trust 
without reserve, and without apprehension of disap- 
pointment. Turn over the pages. of Scripture, and 



102 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



oil every page you may see it written, as a direction 
for the weak, weary, and fainting pilgrim — Trust in 
the Lord. Are you in bodily or spiritual danger ? 
Are you in perplexity and uncertainty, are you poor 
and friendless, are you in pain or trouble, does the 
world deceive, Satan tempt, and death and hell threat- 
en you? Still this is the simple and effectual direction, 
which meets your case, Trust in the Lord. How 
comforting, how exhilarating ! In the Lord is ever- 
lasting might, and therefore he is greater than all that 
can be against us ; he has all knowledge, and cannot 
therefore be ignorant of our circumstances; he has 
infinite pity, and therefore will not repulse the hum- 
ble and confiding heart. Besides, has he not invited 
our confidence? nay, has he not promised to accept 
and reward it? His word, which is sure and infal- 
lible, abounds with encouragement. It contains, too, 
the record of the experience of the saints in all ages, 
who have trusted in the Lord, and have not been 
put to shame. He is not a God so high that he will 
not condescend, nor is he so glorious, as to be unap- 
proachable; for he has constituted his own beloved 
Son the way of access, through whom if any man 
come unto him, he shall in nowise be cast out. Com- 
mit thy ways, therefore, unto the Lord ; trust him 
with all thy heart and be safe. 

0 my soul, how sweet thy privilege and how great 
thy security, in trusting in the Lord! Thou mayest 
well appeal to thy experience for evidence of God's 
faithfulness, for hitherto he has never disappointed 
thy confidence. In despondency he has comforted 
thee, in doubt relieved thee, and to thy troubled 
conscience he has spoken peace. He hath delivered 
and will yet deliver thee. Difficulties and trials are 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



103 



yet to be expected, but they cannot be too many or 
too severe, for thy Father in heaven to relieve. 
Neither the complicated ills of life, nor the terrors of 
death, can wrest from thee the unspeakable comfort of 
a filial trust in him. Well mayest thou exclaim, 
" Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be 
afraid ; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my 
song, he is also become my salvation." 



104 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



A GOOD WIFE. 



A virtuous woman is a crown 
to her husband : but she that 
maketh ashamed is as rottenness 
in his bones. 

Who can find a virtuous wo- 
man ? for her price is far above 
rubies. 

The heart of her husband doth 
safely trust in her, so that he shall 
have no need of spoil. 

She will do him good and not 
evil all the days of her life. 

She seeketh wool, and flax, and 
worketh willingly with her hands. 

She is like the merchants' ships; 
she bringeth her food from afar. 

She riseth also while it is yet 
night, and giveth meat to her 
household, and a portion to her 
maidens. 

She considereth a field, and buy- 
eth it : with the fruit of her hands 
she planteth a vineyard. 

She girdeth her loins with 
strength, and strengthened her 
arms. 

She perceiveth that her mer- 
chandize is good: her candle go- 
eth not out by night. 

She layeth her hands to the 
spindle, and her hands hold the 
distaff. 

She stretcheth out her hand to 
the poor ; yea, she reacheth forth 
her hands to the needy. 

She is not afraid of the snow 
for her household : for all her 



household are clothed with scar- 
let. 

She maketh herself coverings of 
tapestry ; her clothing is silk and 
purple. 

Her husband is known in the 
gates, when he sitteth among the 
elders of the land. 

She maketh fine linen, and sell- 
eth it; and delivereth girdles unto 
the merchant. 

Strength and honour are her 
clothing; and she shall rejoice in 
time to come. 

She openeth her mouth with 
wisdom, and in her tongue is the 
law of kindness. 

She looketh well to the ways of 
her household, and eateth not the 
bread of idleness. 

Her children arise up and call 
her blessed, her husband also, and 
he praiseth her. 

Many daughters have done vir- 
tuously, but thou excellest them 
all. 

Favour is deceitful, and beauty 
is vain : but a woman that feareth 
the Lord, she shall be praised. 

Give her of the fruit of her 
hands ; and let her own works 
praise her in the gates. 

House and riches are the in- 
heritance of fathers : and a pru- 
dent wife is from the Lord. 

A gracious woman retaineth 
honour. 



The most honourable and endeared of earthly re- 
lations, is that formed by the marriage contract. It 
was devised by God himself for the promotion of hu- 
man happiness ; and when entered into with discre- 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



105 



tion, and with right qualifications, it fully and happily 
answers its original design. Among heathen nations, 
its chief benefits have been defeated, by the degrada- 
tion of the female character ; and even in nominally 
Christian ones, it is often abused by imprudent and 
mercenary connexions. Woman is designed to be the 
charm of the domestic circle, and on her is mainly 
dependent its happiness. 

Although the customs of Eastern life are not well 
adapted to the duties and rational enjoyments of the 
marriage relation, still the author of the preceding de- 
scription evinced a just apprehension of the qualities 
which constitute a good wife. He delineates a home- 
scene with inimitable grace, and brings into relief 
many leading traits of character, which, in any age 
or country, would adorn the matron. In his enume- 
ration, he comprehends her virtue, wisdom, benevo- 
lence, industry, kindness, faithfulness to her children, 
regard for her husband's happiness, and just manage- 
ment of her household concerns. 

On a topic where much might be suggested, a few 
hints must suffice. In accommodating herself to her 
husband, the wife should not imagine that she lowers 
her dignity or abridges her independence. It is her 
prerogative to rule in the domestic circle ; and she 
never forfeits her ascendency, but through her own 
faults or defects. 

Possessed of a cultivated mind, blest with bland and 
gentle manners, governed by prudence, and endowed 
with a warm and confiding heart, she cannot fail to 
secure, not only the love and esteem, but the respect 
and confidence of her husband; and while he regards 
her as his truest friend, he cheerfully resorts to her as 
his safest counsellor. Without such qualities of heart 

10 



106 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



and mind, it is vain for a woman to aim at a controlling 
influence. The throne of man's heart may be won by 
gentleness, and retained by virtue and intelligence; but 
cannot be carried by storm ; and the wife never com- 
mits a more fatal mistake, than when she supposes 
she can secure ascendency by dictation, irritating de- 
mands, or angry discussion. These are so opposite 
to the beau ideal of female loveliness, which one is 
apt to form, as to repel the heart and diminish its con- 
fidence. A good wife must possess sterling qualities; 
such as will wear well and improve by use, and more 
than supply the place of exterior attractions, when they 
begin to fade or lose their charm. 

A temper amiable and equable, a quiet and gentle 
manner, industrious habits, prudence and economy, 
a love of home, a conciliating disposition, right and 
fixed principles, are, in a sense, indispensable. A 
good wife should ever greet her husband with smiles; 
his happiness should be her study; and when exhaust- 
ed and harassed by attention to his secular concerns, 
at home he should find a sweet refuge ; and in her, 
one ready to soothe and cheer him. Her cheerfulness 
may dispel the cloud from his brow, and her placidity 
smooth the rufflings of his temper. Her industry 
should never degenerate into noisy bustling, nor her 
neatness into that fastidious nicety, than which nothing 
is more annoying to others. A wife is never less beau- 
tiful than when angry, never less interesting than when 
scolding. In the management of children and domes- 
tics, she should pursue a uniform plan, that all may 
know their duties, and be fully apprized that obedience 
will be required; this once settled, there will be less 
necessity for the repetition of authoritative commands. 
In expecting these and similar qualifications in a wife, 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



107 



nothing more is required, than is requisite for her own 
respectability and happiness. How many homes are 
rendered wretched by their absence ! A wife who de- 
votes herself to fashion; who is never Jess happy than 
when at home; who, in domestic duties, is peevish and 
fretful; who exacts more from her husband than she 
is willing to concede ; whose demeanour to domestics 
is overbearing, and to her children harsh, or what is 
equally injurious, criminally lenient; who is wanting 
in discretion and common sense, converts home into 
a paradise lost. A wife who knows what a wife 
should be, will not fail to perceive the necessity of 
divine guidance, and will pray earnestly for the wis- 
dom which is profitable to direct. 

Do I stand in the marriage relation? How impor- 
tant my position! The world is composed of families; 
and as are the families, so is the world. Thus I am 
entrusted with the training of at least a portion of the 
great world, and as the head of a family, their good 
conduct and final destiny materially depend on my 
management. As a steward of God I am required to 
occupy until he comes. My sphere may be limited, 
nevertheless it is important. The dear ones with 
whom I am connected, look to me for counsel and 
example; and shall I not feel my responsibility, and 
study the duties of my station ? Shall I not so learn 
to improve and control myself, that I may exert a 
happy influence with the members of my household ? 
How greatly do I need the grace and teachings of 
God! Without them I can do nothing efficiently. 
Let me settle it then in my own mind, that I must 
begin with the fear of God, and in every succeeding 
step feel the necessity for divine help. 



108 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM, 



REPROOF. 



A reproof entereth more into a 
wise man than an hundred stripes 
into a fool. 

The ear that heareth the reproof 
of life abideth among- the wise. 

He that refuseth instruction des- 
piseth his own soul : but he that 
heareth reproof getteth under- 
standing-. 

Faithful are the wounds of a 
friend ; but the kisses of an enemy 
are deceitful. 



Poverty and shame shall be to 
him that refuseth instruction: but 
he that regardeth reproof shall be 
honoured. 

He, that being- often reproved 
hardeneth his neck 5 shall suddenly 
be destroyed, and that without 
remedy. 

Correction is grievous unto him 
that forsaketh the way: and he 
that hateth reproof shall die. 



Blame-worthiness is the just ground of reproof. 
It may be administered by superiors, equals, or infe- 
riors; its poignancy depending principally on its 
relevancy, and not wholly on the character of him 
who administers it. There is certainly more propriety 
in the reproof of one who is careful of his own conduct, 
and whose general correctness exempts him from re- 
tort; and yet occasions may exist in which the right- 
eous may incur the reproof of the wicked. As all 
men are imperfect, all are exposed to reprehension ; 
and they are generally most deserving of it who most 
bitterly complain and most fiercely resent it. To ima- 
gine that there is nothing in us worthy of blame, is a 
strong proof of ignorance and self-conceit. 

Reproof may be administered by actions as well as 
words. The example of a good man is a lively re- 
proof of the wicked. No language of rebuke could 
have more deeply entered into the soul of Peter than 
did the look of his Lord. Gentle, yet reprimanding, 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



109 



it spoke in a voice not to be misunderstood, to the 
conscience of the backslider, and brought his sin to 
painful remembrance. Reproofs given in anger are 
seldom efficacious, but when conveyed in kindness 
and faithfulness they may prove eminently serviceable. 
Pride may render them unpalatable; but like a nause- 
ous medicine they may reach and counteract the 
disease. 

The state of the heart is best tested by the effect 
produced on it by just reproof. To be restive, 
indignant, and retaliatory under reprehension, is 
good evidence that it is deserved. The good man 
whose mind is in an holy and humble frame, will be 
submissive, if not thankful, when his faults are repre- 
hended. It will afford him some hint to be improved; 
induce closer self-examination, and lead to greater 
circumspection. Where, however, reproof is most 
needed, it is generally least acceptable. They whose 
faults are most manifest, hate the vigilance that de- 
tects and the boldness that rebukes them. The friend- 
ly advice and warning are interpreted as officious in- 
termeddling; and where kindness is intended, they 
pretend to see only hostile feeling. Thus transgressors 
harden themselves, and while they hasten to the dan- 
gerous precipice, they repel those who would inter- 
pose a barrier between them and ruin. It is a mark 
of their mad infatuation to hate reproof, and a sad 
prognostic of their inevitable fate. It is the special 
duty of the ambassador of God to reprove the wicked, 
and to do it with all long-suffering ; in hope that the 
arrow may sooner or later reach the mark and induce 
the sinner to reflect and amend his ways. 

My soul, remember that while he that hateth re- 
proof shall die, he that heareth it, abideth among the 

10* 



110 * FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 

wise. If called to administer it to others, do it from 
affectionate concern for their interests; if exposed to 
receive it, know that it is well to be corrected for thy 
faults. Especially when God reproves, reverently 
submit and turn from the sin which awakens his dis- 
pleasure. Thou hast greatly erred from thy youth 
until now, and yet, through divine forbearance, thou 
hast escaped the just desert of thy sins. Wilt thou not 
therefore receive with docility the reproofs of God's 
providence and word, which are designed for thy 
good ? Remember and be warned by the fate of those, 
who harden themselves in their sin and will not be 
admonished to forsake it. Earthly friends and coun- 
sellors advise, and the Lord from heaven rebukes; 
but although often reproved, they harden their neck, 
and then they are suddenly destroyed, and that with- 
out remedy. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



Ill 



FALSEHOOD. 



Lying lips are abomination to 
the Lord : but they that deal truly 
are his delight. 

A lying tongue hateth those 
that are afflicted by it : and a 
flattering mouth worketh ruin. 

Excellent speech becometh not a 
fool: much less do lying lips a 
prince. 



The lip of truth shall be estab- 
lished for ever : but a lying tongue 
is but for a moment. 

He that hideth hatred with ly- 
ing lips, and he that uttereth a 
slander, is a fool. 



Some have made it a grave question in morals, whe- 
ther falsehood can, under any circumstances, be jus- 
tifiable. The suggestion of such a possibility is itself 
an absurdity, inasmuch as the God of truth has settled 
it beyond dispute, that a falsehood is a violation of the 
law of rectitude, and can therefore be only a wrong, 
which admits of no justification. Extreme cases have 
been supposed in which a momentary departure from 
truth might prove a security to life; but if in the pro- 
vidence of God such cases do occur, a direct infringe- 
ment of the divine law would be a singular mode of 
invoking God's protection. There is an eternal and 
unchangeable distinction between truth and falsehood; 
and plausible sophistry, however it may obscure, can- 
not destroy it. God is a God of truth, and the dig- 
nity, happiness, and safety of the creature depend on 
his conformity to this high standard. 

A sacred regard for truth should be a fixed prin- 
ciple in every mind, and whatever approaches to a 
deviation should be vigilantly guarded against. In- 
dependently of the divine penalty which is incurred 
by the falsifier, there is a forfeiture of the confidence 
of his fellow-men, who justly regard him as setting 



112 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



aside the only safe rules of social intercourse. False- 
hood is always designed to dec^ve, sometimes for 
amusement, but more frequently from motives of self- 
interest. All fiction is not falsehood, for there are 
cases in which it may be resorted to for the purpose 
of illustrating right principles and inculcating good 
morals, as in fables, allegories, and tales; but all 
falsehood is fiction, assuming the semblance of- truth, 
for purposes of deception. In the word of God, lying 
is presented as one of the incontestable evidences of 
human depravity. " The wicked are estranged from 
the womb; they go astray speaking lies." Early evi- 
dence of this is given in children, who, to hide a fault 
or to escape punishment, will readily invent a lie. 
Wise and careful instruction may counteract this pro- 
pensity, but when neglected and overlooked, "it 
grows with the growth and strengthens with the 
strength." Where the influence of moral restraint 
is not felt, falsehood becomes familiar, and is without 
compunction resorted to on all convenient occasions, 
when temporary interests seem to be subserved 
by it. How fearfully prevalent is this vice in affairs 
of business ! It becomes the art of traffickers by 
which bargains are made and gains secured. In trade, 
every one is taught to be wary, on account of the 
commonness of the practice ; and it is to be feared 
that it is the few and not the many, who are to be 
credited on their simple word. 

Lies sometimes originate in vanity as well as in 
worldly interest, and then they are made the vehicle 
of self-glorification. It is a contemptible fame which 
a man acquires by pretension to qualities which he 
does not possess ; or by boasting of achievements 
which he never performed. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



113 



Another class of lies springs from malice. The 
tattler and slanderer present melancholy examples, 
when they engage in their diabolical work of dama- 
ging the reputation of others. With just so much 
foundation in truth as to give a colourable aspect to 
their tales, they accomplish by inuendos or exaggera- 
tions their base purpose; and, without enriching them- 
selves, impoverish others, who, in the loss of character, 
lose their all. In a moral point of view, the malicious 
liar is unspeakably more odious than the vain or mer- 
cenary one. 

A lie is ordinarily expressed in words ; but it may 
be as effectually told by a look, the pointing of a finger, 
or the suppression of some part of the truth. Exam- 
ples of these will readily suggest themselves to the 
reflecting reader. 

There is one form of lying, however, which is pecu- 
liarly offensive in the sight of God; it is that which 
relates to a false pretence in religion, and is a lie of 
hypocrisy. Religion may be professed where the real- 
ity does not exist, from sheer ignorance and without 
intention to deceive; this is properly called self-decep- 
tion; but religious character is often assumed in form 
from unjustifiable motives, and with the view of de- 
ceiving others ; and this is hypocrisy. He that will 
thus lie, not only to man, but to God, who cannot be 
deceived, incurs a fearful responsibility. The cases of 
Judas, Ananias and Sapphira, are placed on record 
to show God's abhorrence of the wilful hypocrite. 

Falsehood, in all its modifications, is opposed to 
the divine law; and in the holy Scriptures, the displea- 
sure of God is, with remarkable frequency, pronounced 
against it. It is certainly accompanied with great incon- 
venience and loss of reputation here to those who prac- 



114 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



tise it; but its heaviest punishment is yet in reserve, 
for "liars shall have their portion in that lake that 
burnetii with fire and brimstone," and "there shall in 
no wise enter into heaven any thing that defileth or 
worketh abomination or that maketh a lie." 

My soul, learn to abhor the lying lips. Let no mo- 
tive of worldly interest induce thee to deceive thy 
neighbour. Honour and safety are alike connected 
with truthfulness, and every temptation to deviate 
from the simplicity of truth should be studiously re- 
sisted. How much dost thou need the grace of God, 
to purge out from thee the dispositions which natu- 
rally incline to falsehood! It is the love of the world 
that leads to mercenary lies ; it is self-conceit which 
induces lies of self- glorification; it is envy and malice 
which originate slanderous lies ; it is unbelief which 
leads to lies of hypocrisy. A pure heart will be 
accompanied by guileless lips. Aim, therefore, to 
cleanse the fountain, that the streams may be pure. 
Above all, maintain truth between thyself and God. 
Resort to no vain disguises before Him, who knoweth 
the secrets of all hearts. Let all thy professions of 
love, duty, and obedience, be sincere ; and let thy 
conscience be void of offence to God and man, that 
thou mayest ever be able, with conscious rectitude, to 
make thy appeal to the Searcher of hearts. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



115 



DECEIT. 



He that hateth dissemblethwith 
his lips, and layeth up deceit with- 
in him ; 

When he speaketh fair, believe 
him not : for there are seven abo- 
minations in his heart. 

Whose hatred is covered by de- 
ceit, his wickedness shall be show- 
ed before the whole congregation. 



As a madman who casteth fire- 
brands, arrows, and death, 

So is the man that deceiveth 
his neighbour, and saith, Am not 
I in sport? 

He that is first in his own cause 
seemeth just; but his neighbour 
cometh and searcheth him. 



Deceit and falsehood are closely allied, bearing the 
same relation to each other, as the fountain to the 
stream. The one implies the other. The deceitful 
are always false, and falsehood is designed to conceal 
deceit, a vice which none are willing to avow. De- 
ceit supposes a fair and plausible exterior, which has 
no correspondence with the inward feelings. While 
the manner is friendly, the heart is hostile ; while 
honeyed words drop from the lips, hate dwells in the 
soul. The whole life of a deceitful person is a prac- 
tical lie. With some sinister purpose to accomplish, 
he will disguise his real sentiments ; and by strong 
professions, bland and winning manners, and a dis- 
play of seeming interest, completely hoodwink and 
impose on others. How many have thus won confi- 
dence, which they afterwards betrayed! Common and 
despicable as the vice is, we should not suppose that 
sincerity and friendship are extinct ; because some 
have proved false, all are not to be distrusted. De- 



116 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



ceit, sooner or later leads to its own detection. The 
most consummate art will at times so relax its watch- 
fulness, as to let the true character be seen through 
the disguise. A man may speak fair^ dissemble with 
his lips, and cover the hatred of his heart; but his 
wickedness shall be showed before the whole congre- 
gation. In the domestic relations, how often is deceit 
resorted to, to cover crime between husband and wife, 
parents and children, employers and domestics ! Its 
detection is often the cause of domestic strife, and of 
alienation and disunion. 

Never does this vice wear a more odious aspect 
than when found in professed religious teachers, 
who assume, an air of sanctity, and by flattering 
speeches, propagate their errors to the ruin of the 
souls of men. The word of God frequently refers to 
such as "deceivers and deceitful workers, who trans- 
form themselves into apostles of Christ, and by good 
words and fair speeches, deceive the hearts of the 
simple." Heretics in all ages of the church have 
proved themselves to be masters in the art of deceit ; 
and the success of their efforts, in no^ small degree, 
depends on the skill with which they personate the 
ambassadors of God. Verily they have their reward. 
The more successful here, the more terrible their re- 
tribution hereafter. 

My soul, let sincerity characterize all thy social in- 
tercourse with thy fellow-men, and all thy inter- 
course with God. As thou prayest against a false 
tongue, so pray against a deceitful heart. As a 
Christian, thou shouldst imitate the blessed Jesus, 
who was never obsequious in courting the favour of 
the great, was free from guile, ever appeared in his 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



117 



true character, and who was so constant in his affec- 
tion, that having loved his own, he loved them to the 
end. With him profession and practice were coinci- 
dent, and so it should be with thee. Let thy words 
ever be the echo of thy sentiments; and aim at that 
holy state of heart in which thou wilt not be afraid 
that the world should pry into the secret recesses of 
thy bosom. 



II 



118 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



ANGER. 



A stone is heavy, and the sand 
weighty; but a fool's wrath is 
heavier than them both. 

Wrath is cruel, and anger is 
outrageous. 

He that is soon angry dealeth 
foolishly: and a man of wicked 
devices is hated. 

An angry man stirreth up 
strife, and a furious man abound - 
eth in transgression. 



A wrathful man stirreth up 
strife : but he that is slow to 
anger appeaseth strife. 

He that is slow to wrath is 
of great understanding; but he 
that is hasty of spirit exalteth 
folly. 

Make no friendship with an 
angry man ; and with a furious 
man thou shalt not go. 



Anger may be regarded as a temporary insanity; 
for, when in excess, it imparts to the face the hue, to 
the voice the violence, and to the conduct the fury of 
the madman. There is, however, this difference, that 
the emotion in the one case is controllable, but not in 
the other ; and hence the angry man is criminal, while 
the insane, in his paroxysms, is not held morally re- 
sponsible. Some temperaments are more excitable 
than others, and require more watchful care to sup- 
press the first ebullitions. The tendency to anger 
may be nurtured by indulgence, or restrained by 
Christian discipline. To the latter duty, we should 
be constrained by two considerations ; the first is, 
that anger can be indulged only in the face of God's 
express prohibition, and consequently incurs his dis- 
pleasure ; the other arises from a view of the conse- 
quences into which it may betray us in this life. 
There are few more frightful sources of crime. It is 
murder in conception, and oftens impels to the actual 
perpetration. It always inclines to violence; and the 
angry man is not in a fit mood to say, within what 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



119 



limits such violence shall be restrained. His reason 
becomes impaired, his moral perceptions blunted, his 
conscience blinded; and thus, for the time being, he 
disqualifies himself for cool and rational conduct. 
What a curse to a neighbourhood is such a temper, 
and how still more intolerable in a household! It 
poisons every comfort of life, and counteracts the 
best arranged plans for domestic felicity. 

Irritability is so excessive in some persons as to 
be regarded as an infirmity, which may be attributed 
more to physical constitution than to moral perversity. 
For the most part this is an error, as, in general, the 
nervous condition, on which it is supposed to depend, 
is superinduced by habit and criminal neglect of early 
restraint. If, like a stringed instrument, the passions 
are accustomed to vibrate to the slightest touch, it 
may be an infirmity, but certainly not an innocent one. 
It is extremely difficult to "be angry and sin not;" and 
hence when the justest occasions for indignation occur, 
the Christian man should be anxious and watchful 
lest a sinful emotion should be indulged under a false 
name. In situations most trying to the temper, even 
when others by insult and injury aim to exasperate, 
it is the duty of the rational man to pause and ask 
himself, "dost thou well to be angry ?" The world 
is replete with trouble, which need not be increased 
from this cause. Those against whom our angry re- 
sentment might be excited, like ourselves, are mortal 
dying creatures, who are soon to stand before the 
dread tribunal of God. Why then quarrel by the 
way? Would the recollection of our anger add to 
our tranquillity, if we or they were engaged in the 
last struggle, or standing before the bar of God? Why 
then impart to the grave an additional gloom, or to 



120 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



the judgment an additional terror, by the indulgence 
of unhallowed tempers? 

My soul, peace is thy most favourable element for 
spiritual improvement; and as thou hast a great work 
to perform, and a heavy account to render, avoid the 
storms which would drive thee from thy course on 
thy heavenward voyage. Let not thine own temper 
be ruffled, for this will disturb thy tranquillity ; and 
against thy fellow worm encourage no vindictive feel- 
ing, for if thou lovest not thy brother whom thou hast 
seen, how canst thou love God whom thou hast not 
seen? If God forbears with thee under great provo- 
cations, thou mayest well forbear with thy fellow- 
men under lighter ones. Vengeance belongeth unto 
God, he will repay. Although no infirmities of tem- 
per are properly ascribable to Him, yet his treatment 
of the wicked will be as terrible as if the result of an 
almighty wrath. Fear to offend him in thought, 
word, or deed; and kiss the Son lest he be angry, and 
thou perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled 
but a little. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



121 



INGRATITUDE. 

Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from 
his house. 

It was Job's affecting complaint, under the pressure 
of adversity, in allusion to the conduct of former 
friends, "When they were sick, my clothing was 
sackcloth, I humbled my soul with fasting, I behaved 
myself as though he had been my friend or brother, 
I bowed down heavily as one that mourneth for his 
mother. But in my adversity they rejoiced." Well 
might he be dejected at such flagrant ingratitude. 
Few afflictions are more difficult to be borne, than a 
requital of evil for good. The ill treatment of an 
enemy may be tolerable ; but the base desertion of 
one's familiar friends falls upon the soul with stunning 
force. Happily, ingratitude is a vice which has a 
bad odour with the world; and striking instances of 
it are seldom palliated even by the irreligious. It has 
indeed features so repulsive, that its connexion with 
a bad state of the heart, is generally acknowledged. 
Let us suppose a case or two in illustration. A man 
of benevolent disposition sees a neighbour in distress. 
He visits and ministers to him in sickness, relieves 
him from the pressure of poverty, rescues him from 
the grasp of inexorable creditors, and provides him 
with the means of obtaining a livelihood. His hearth 
is no longer desolate; the tears of a dependent and 
suffering family are chased away with smiles, and the 
whole aspect of his fortune is changed. Surely love 

11* 



122 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



and gratitude are due to such a benefactor. But sup- 
pose, in the course of events, the benefactor is, in 
turn, reduced to want, and his friendly acts being 
fotgotten, he is neglected and coldly repulsed, even 
the crumbs of the other's superfluity being denied 
him ; and we have a case, which too often occurs, to 
shame humanity and to revolt the sensibilities of the 
good. 

Suppose again an anxious mother watching with 
intense interest her loved child; bending with sleep- 
less eyes over him in sickness; anticipating his wants; 
defending him against every hostile attack, with a 
mother's fondness; and with unwearied solicitude, 
smoothing for him the path of life ; and suppose 
again, this child, grown to manhood, despising her 
counsels, regardless of the wounds he inflicts on her 
tender spirit, and treating her with positive unkind- 
ness and neglect, and we have a case of still more 
flagrant iniquity, at which humanity shudders/ and 
even angels might weep. 

Under less aggravated forms, this sin is of such 
frequent occurrence in the world, as to justify, in a 
measure, the biting sarcasm, that if you do one a fa- 
vour, you may be sure of an ungrateful return. The 
conduct of many in this respect is an injury inflicted 
on the whole community, as it tends to lessen the 
amount of human sympathy, and closes the hearts of 
the benevolent against the distressed. If a grateful 
sense of favours is not to be expected, favours will 
become scarce ; and those who might be disposed to 
bless the hand of a benefactor, will not have the op- 
portunity. As the sin is great, it is not unfrequently 
visited with the marked displeasure of God; and they 
that have received kindnesses without gratitude, are 
often left to suffer want without pity. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



123 



My soul, hast thou felt it to be thy pleasing duty to 
cherish the remembrance of every kind act from thy 
fellow-men? This thou shouldst surely do. The 
unkind treatment of others to thee should be written 
on the sand; their kindness engraved on the enduring 
tablet of thy heart. If thou hast been ungratefully 
requited, let not this chill thy charity, or cause thee to 
repress the benevolent affections. It is a higher de- 
gree of virtue, where thou canst persevere in doing 
good to those who reward thy good with evil. Thou 
mayest be spurned by those whom thou hast succour- 
ed, and treated with indignity by those, over whose 
calamities thou hast wept; but this should be no rea- 
son why thou shouldst not imitate the example of 
thy divine Master, who does good to the unthankful 
and unworthy. Benevolence is a part of thy reli- 
gion, and thou canst always exercise it, at least for 
Christ's sake. 

If, my soul, the ingratitude of man pains thee, how 
much more inexcusable is ingratitude to God ! And 
yet does not conscience charge thee with this ? Has 
not thy heavenly Father watched over thee with un- 
wearied tenderness? has he not daily showered on 
thee his benefits? has he not, at unspeakable cost, 
provided for thy salvation? Still hast thou not re- 
fused him thy full homage ? Thou hast ill requited 
thy Lord; and although thy Redeemer has wept over 
thee, suffered for thee, and given his precious life for 
thy redemption, how seldom dost thou melt into gra- 
titude and praise. 0, let it be so no longer : 

Let past ingratitude 

Provoke thy weeping- eyes; 
And hourly as new mercies fall, 

Let hourly thanks arise. 



124 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



ENVY. 

Wrath is cruel and anger is A sound heart is the life of the 
outrageous; but who is able to flesh, but envy the rottenness of 
stand before envy? [ the bones. 

Envy is awakened by desirable qualities or stations 
which one does not himself possess. It is a vice at once 
mean and cruel, as its chief occupation is to depre- 
ciate others, and its highest gratification their degra- 
dation and overthrow. Instead of inducing exertion, 
to rise to an equality with those above, it chiefly aims 
to reduce others to its own level. It is so blind as to 
see no charm in beauty, no excellence in virtue, which 
it does not itself possess; and yet so sharp sighted as 
to espy defects which do not exist, and to magnify 
those that do. Its judgments also are severe ; for it 
denies merit to others, and is pained when they are 
applauded. It has poisoned arrows to shoot at those 
who dare ascend one step higher on the hill of fame 
than itself; and with remorseless cruelty would hurl 
them into the depths below. Well might the wise 
man exclaim, " Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrage- 
ous, but who can stand before envy ?" The first is 
like a storm which may be braved, but the latter like 
an atmosphere loaded with poisonous vapours, the 
fatal operation of which is insidious and unseen. How 
many have been defamed, betrayed, and ruined by it! 
The good, the great, and the successful, find in it their 
chief enemy. The Son of God himself was delivered 
to death through envy; and "when the Jews were 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



125 



filled with envy, they laid hands on the Apostles and 
put them in the common prison." 

While injurious to others it is a corroding poison to 
its possessor. Like jealousy, to which it is akin, it 
drinks up the spirit, scares rest from the bosom, and 
is " rottenness to the bones." Who would covet the 
feelings of the envious man? In depreciating others, 
he is conscious he does not exalt himself; in disturbing 
their peace he destroys his own; and, like a venomous 
serpent, if he fails to strike his fangs into the object of 
his attack, he infixes them in himself. Thus it brings 
its wretched reward with it even in this world. "Envy 
destroyeth the silly one." Its dwelling is not exclu- 
sively among the openly wicked, but, from the Apos- 
tles' days until the present, it has been the troubler of 
the church. Even those who minister in holy things are 
not free from it when surpassed by others in their gifts, 
graces, and success. Alas, how is religion discredited, 
the peace of Sion disturbed, and the progress of the 
gospel retarded, by the introduction of this feeling 
among those who profess to be sanctified by the spi- 
rit of Christ! Well might an apostle exclaim, "If 
ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory 
not and lie not against the truth. This wisdom des- 
cendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, and 
devilish ; for where envying and strife is, there is con- 
fusion and every evil work." 

My soul, if thou wouldst have peace, and regard 
the favour of God, let not envy dwell within thee. It 
is true that others surpass thee in the gifts of providence 
and the endowments of grace, and in the success of 
their exertions; they receive more of the applause of 
the world and of the reverence of the good; but why 
shouldst thou on that account regard them with un- 



126 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



holy envy? If they have done well, thou shouldst 
rejoice; and, in the spirit of John the Baptist, thou 
shouldst be willing that they should increase, although 
thereby thou shouldst decrease. If thy heavenly 
Father bestows gifts on them which he withholds from 
thee, wilt thou quarrel with God for making thee to 
differ? If virtue is promoted and religion triumphs 
more through the instrumentality of others than thine 
own ; this is a good reason for humility and self-exami- 
nation, but no ground for envy. Give credit where 
it is due, and strive thyself to deserve it. Esteem 
others better than thyself, let their good deeds awaken 
thy gratitude, and excite thy emulation, and if they 
should surpass thee in every thing else, at least re- 
solve that they shall not surpass thee in love to God, 
and in lowliness of mind. Thou needest not envy 
others; the highway is before thee, and it will be 
thine own fault, if thou dost not inherit a crown, and 
become an heir of glory. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



127 



SELF-CONCEIT. 



Seest thou a man wise in his i Let another man praise thee, and 
own conceit ? there is more hope ' not thine own mouth ; a stranger, 
of a fool than of him. I and not thine own lips. 

The rich man is wise in his own i The way of a fool is right in 
conceit: but the poor that hath un- his own eyes: but he that heark- 
derstanding searc'heth him out. eneth unto counsel is wise. 

Most men will proclaim every Every way of man is right in 
one his own goodness : but a faith- his own eyes : but the Lord pon- 
ful man who can find ? | dereth the hearts. 

It is a gospel injunction not to think more highly 
of ourselves than we ought to think, nor by self- 
flattering partiality to form an exaggerated estimate 
of our own attainments. By self-conceit, a man not 
only forfeits the esteem of others, but renders himself 
an object of ridicule. When a man's own lips praise 
him, there is strong presumptive reason to believe 
that he is not worthy of praise ; for the qualities or 
acts which are really meritorious never fail to speak 
for themselves, and are only brought into suspicion 
by self-commendation. Self-conceit may possibly, in 
some rare cases, consist with real merit; although it 
is generally the evidence of a weak mind, and found 
in alliance with mere pretension. It is a peculiar 
infirmity of youth, which maturer age ought to cor- 
rect; for he that imagines himself to be very wise at 
twenty ought at fifty to be convinced that he knows 
nothing as he should know it. He that has little com- 
prehensiveness of view, may pride himself in his know- 
ledge of the objects within his limited circle; but as his 
views become expanded, and the range of subjects 
which are not known increases, pride receives a salu- 



128 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



tary check. Of how much are we entirely ignorant, 
and how imperfect the knowledge which we actually 
possess ; and yet can we, in these circumstances, in- 
dulge self-complacency, and pride ourselves in a fan- 
cied superiority? Fools may plume themselves on 
imaginary qualities, and wonder that the world does 
not pay them homage ; but the truly wise will be 
modest in estimating themselves, and, persuaded that 
their ignorance is greater than their knowledge, will 
shrink from the praises of others. Newton, whose 
wonderful mind penetrated into the deep and hitherto 
unexplored secrets of nature, and announced disco- 
veries which astonished and enlightened the world, 
regarded himself as a child gathering pebbles and 
shells on the shore of a vast and unexplored ocean. 
It is in this way that true merit will ever be associ- 
ated with humility. Self-conceit in children and young 
persons should be checked and exposed by those of 
superior knowledge, as it opposes no small barrier to 
improvement. He that foolishly supposes that he is 
wiser than his elders, will remain contented with his 
ignorance, and make no effort to advance in know- 
ledge. If there, indeed, be any perceptible distinc- 
tion between folly and self-conceit, the first is to be 
preferred, for "there is more hope of a fool than of 
one who is wise in his own conceit." This infirmity, 
which is merely ridiculous in the artist who imagines 
in himself the concentration of all skill, or contempt- 
ible in the literary pretender, is odious in the religious 
professor, who boasts of his spiritual attainments and 
experience, and looks upon others as at an immea- 
surable distance behind him. 

My soul, when thou art tempted to pride, reflect 
upon thy ignorance, and the imperfection of all thy 



FOUNTAIN OP WISDOM. 



129 



attainments, that thou mayest be humbled. Esteem 
others better than thyself. There are many in advance 
of thee in knowledge and goodness, who have im- 
proved their gifts and opportunities better than thy- 
self. Thou hast no ground for boasting of thy natural 
attainments, and still less of thy spiritual ones. When 
thou shouldst have been a teacher of others, thou 
needest thyself to be taught first principles. What 
limited views hast thou of the glory of God ! How 
partially hast thou succeeded in subduing thyself, and 
obtaining a meetness for the kingdom of heaven ! The 
sins into which thou art daily betrayed, and the infir- 
mities of temper thou art constantly revealing, may 
well check self-conceit, and humble thee before 
God. Instead, therefore, of standing still to applaud 
thyself on thine attainments, leave the things that are 
behind, and press onward towards the things that are 
before. 



130 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM, 



INJUSTICE AN 



An unjust man is an abomina- 
tion to the just: and he that is 
upright in the way is abomination 
to the wicked. 

He that justifieth the wicked, 
and he that condemneth the just, 
even they both are abomination 
to the Lord. 

A wicked man taketh a gift out 
of the bosom to pervert the ways 
of judgment. 

A poor man that oppresseth the 
poor is like a sweeping rain which 
leaveth no food. 

He that saith unto the wicked, 
Thou art righteous; him shall the 
people curse, nations shall abhor 
him: 

But to them that rebuke him 



D OPPRESSION. 



shall be delight, and a good bless- 
ing shall come upon them. 

The robbery of the wicked shall 
destroy them ; because they re- 
fused to do judgment. 

Remove not the ancient land- 
mark, which thy fathers have set. 

He that oppresseth the poor to 
increase his riches, and he that 
giveth to the rich, shall surely 
come to want. 

For their redeemer is mighty; 
he shall plead their cause with thee. 

Remove not the old landmark ; 
and enter not into the fields of the 
fatherless. 

If thou hast nothing to pay, 
why should he take away thy bed 
from under thee ? 



The design of justice is to render to each man his 
due, and to prevent the oppression of the weak by the 
powerful. To secure its objects, it has been the aim 
of good governments strictly to define the rights of 
individuals, and to maintain them by laws properly 
enforced. The claims of justice would, in general, be 
maintained by the observance of one comprehensive 
scriptural precept, " to do unto others as we would 
that others should do unto us and the indisposition 
of men to regard this rule has rendered necessary that 
cumbrous apparatus of law which attempts to note 
each specific infringement of human rights, and to 
affix an appropriate penalty. Injustice is seldopi the 
result of simple ignorance; it is rather a sin of inten- 
tion. Men know better than they practice, and it is 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



131 



only by perverting their judgment and silencing con- 
science that they become prepared to act unjustly. 
The desire for unlawful gain, and the indulgence of 
personal enmity, are the pregnant sources of injustice. 
Men covetously grasp at each other's property, restrict 
each other's liberty, and assail each other's reputation, 
to gratify malice or the inordinate love of gain. Loose 
principles lead to culpable conduct ; and outward acts 
are only the embodiment of inward feelings. Injus- 
tice is always accompanied by oppression ; it falls 
heavily on its victims, who are subjected to inconve- 
nience, deprived of comforts, overwhelmed with grief, 
and sometimes driven to desperation by the injury 
inflicted. 

The universal prevalence of religion is the only 
adequate remedy for the evils arising from this source; 
for this requires of us in all acts, respect to the dictates 
of conscience, love to our neighbour, and regard to His 
law, who will judge the motives and try the secrets of 
all hearts. Human laws furnish a very insufficient se- 
curity. They are necessarily imperfect, cannot pro- 
vide for all possible contingencies, and even when 
good are too often badly administered. Justice is not 
always a divinity in its own temples. The injured 
may find in his legal adviser a sharper who will be- 
tray his confidence and profit by his ignorance ; and 
in his judge, one perverted by a bribe, and whose de- 
cision will only give additional reason for just com- 
plaint. Unless men are influenced by a sense of re- 
ligious responsibility, it is not mere station, although 
the chief duty of that station is to secure human rights, 
that will make them the undeviating and zealous 
friends of justice. How melancholy the picture which 
our apostate world presents of men preying on one 



132 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



another, and seeking gain in their ruined fortunes. 
Virtue stands amazed, as it gazes on the strife for 
pre-eminence, and the struggles for wealth and power, 
in which the successful, without sympathy or com- 
punction, hasten to their object over the crushed hopes 
and rights of their fellow-men! Blessed Gospel, 
when shall thy triumph be complete! When shall 
the Spirit so imbue the hearts of men as to make them 
pitiful and fraternal to their fellows, and teach them 
to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with their 
God! 

0 my soul, in a world where so many contend for 
their own interests, regardless of those of others, let 
it be thy object to do good to all, and rather to suffer 
than inflict injury. Well dost thou know that a curse 
accompanies the gains accumulated by injustice and 
oppression. They will eat the flesh as if they were 
fire, they will sting as a scorpion, and bring in their 
train the curse of the Almighty. Avoid, therefore, 
the slightest approach to this vice, and for this end, 
banish every covetous desire, and suppress every un- 
kindly feeling which might prompt to injustice. Re- 
member that God is a just God, and he will be strict 
in exacting an account from thee. Thus has he re- 
vealed himself, « A God of truth and without iniquity; 
just and right is He and canst thou appeal to him 
while acting in opposition to his expressed will? 
Canst thou hope in his mercy if thou show no mercy? 
Canst thou die in peace while the cry of the oppressed 
rises against thee ? 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



133 



TALE-BEARING. 



A tale-bearer revealeth secrets: 
but he that is of a faithful spirit 
concealeth the matter. 

Where no wood is, there the fire 
goeth out: so where there is no 
tale-bearer, the strife ceaseth. 



He that covereth a transgression 
seeketh love ; but he that repeateth 
a matter separateth very friends. 

The words of a tale-bearer are 
as wounds, and they go down into 
the innermost parts of the belly. 



Some from a spirit of mischief, and some from sheer 
ignorance and idleness, are betrayed into the vice 
which is here condemned. WJien it springs from the 
first it is atrocious, and is identical with slander, 
making light of a neighbour's reputation and peace 
of mind, and caring little whether the evil report it 
circulates be true or false. When it arises from an 
idle spirit of gossip, it may have less atrocity, but 
is still criminal, and in its consequences may be equal- 
ly injurious. The love of news is with many a beset- 
ting sin; the hearing or communicating of which con- 
stitutes with them the spice of life. In the neglect of 
personal and family duties they will gad about from 
neighbour to neighbour, and what is thus gathered, 
particularly if scandalous, will be as liberally retailed. 
Time and labour are freely expended in giving cur- 
rency to an evil report. What havoc is made of 
reputation at little coteries of such people! With what 
zest will they proclaim the alleged failings of neigh- 
bours, feebly attempting to palliate the iniquity of the 
act by the qualification of hoping that the rumours are 
unfounded, or that they can scarcely be true ! They 
care little about authorities, and as it is not a part of 
their policy to inquire into the truth of what they have 

12* 



134 



FOUNT AIH OF WISDOM. 



heard ; the kitchen is as good authority with them as 
the drawing room, a notorious falsifier as good as a 
credible witness. Wo to the individual who falls into 
the hands, and is left to the tender mercies, of such in- 
veterate newsmongers and gossips ! He may expect 
his most innocent actions to be distorted, his motives 
misinterpreted, his most trivial failings magnified at 
each successive repetition, so that his own portrait as 
drawn by them, would frighten him. Every village 
and neighbourhood embraces persons of this charac- 
ter, with whom it is unsafe to have intercourse. Tale- 
bearers seldom have much regard for truth, and freely 
draw on their imaginations for the embellishments of 
their stories. Never entrust a secret to such persons, 
for "a tale-bearer revealeth secrets, although very 
friends are thereby separated." A domestic or so- 
cial strife is to them a rich treat, and the fire will not 
go out while they can feed it with fuel. Reader, would 
you stand aloof from so pestiferous a vice ? Be a keep- 
er at home, no busy body in other men's matters, but 
attentive to domestic duties, and the cultivation of the 
social affections. 

My soul, avoid the mean and dangerous vice 
of talebearing. It would be iniquitous to spread a 
false report to the injury of thy neighbour, and it 
should pain thee to hear a true one to his discre- 
dit. Flee the society of tattlers, that thou mayest 
escape the infection of their discourse. Remember 
the scriptural warning, " With what judgment ye 
judge, ye shall be judged, and with what measure 
ye mete it shall be measured to you again." Repulse 
the tale-bearer, and admonish him to cast the beam 
out of his own eye, that he may be able to detect the 
mote in that of his neighbour. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



135 



FALSE WITNESS. 



A man that beareth false wit- 
ness against his neighbour is a 
maul, and a sword, and a sharp 
arrow. 

A faithful witness will not lie : 
but a false witness will utter lies. 

A false witness shall perish : 
but the man that heareth speak- 
eth constantly. 



A false witness shall not be un- 
punished, and he that speaketh 
lies shall perish. 

He that speaketh truth showeth 
forth righteousness : but a false 
witness, deceit. 

An ungodly witness scorneth 
judgment : and the mouth of the 
wicked devoureth iniquity. 



A man may be guilty of bearing false witness when 
he inconsiderately repeats what is not true, to the dis- 
paragement of others; but of this we have already 
treated under former topics. The species of the sin 
to which we now refer, is perjury, or the giving of 
false testimony under oath. Assuming that the ad- 
ministration of oaths under proper legal forms is 
scriptural, the testimony which is given under .their 
sanction, must be regarded as the strongest possible 
confirmation of a fact. The appeal is made to God, 
the searcher of hearts, for the truth of what is de- 
clared; and it is to be presumed that the witness will 
have such reverence for the divine Majesty as not to 
call on him to attest a falsehood. Yet alas! such is 
the depravity of the human heart, that perjury is a 
common vice, and it is to be apprehended that the 
irreverent manner in which oaths are administered in 
the civil courts, and still more strikingly in custom- 
houses, contributes to its frequency. Not only is this 
solemn appeal to God required on the most trivial 
occasions, but the administrator seldom evinces in his 
manner the slightest sense of the solemnity of the 



136 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



duty in which he is engaged, and repeats the formula 
with a rapidity and indecent haste, which render its 
terms almost unintelligible. Conveying the impres- 
sion, by his manner, that the whole proceeding is an 
idle ceremony, it is not wonderful that the ignorant 
and the irreligious should in witness-bearing, have 
but little sense of their obligation. Experience would 
seem to indicate, that the frequency of oaths should 
be diminished, and that there should be greater im- 
pressiveness in their administration. 

The crime of perjury justly exposes the transgres- 
sor to severe penalties. It is the worst form of vio- 
lating the truth. It defeats the ends of justice. It 
deprives others of those aids by which their property, 
reputation, and even life, might be secured. It is a 
breach of the law of God, a gross insult offered to 
his majesty, and a braving of his terrible vengeance. 
How fearful then the position of that man who defiles 
and jeopards his soul by this iniquity. A false and 
perjured witness shall surely perish, and those who 
would escape the temptation to the crime, should 
learn habitually to respect the laws of Him who is the 
God of truth. 

My soul, may thy sense of God's terrible majesty 
be an all-sufficient restraint to preserve thee from 
the slightest deviation from truth. Especially be 
impressed with the sanctity of an oath. If thou 
wouldst ascend into the holy hill of God, thou must 
not lift up thyself to vanity, nor swear deceitfully. 
Stand in awe, lest thou shouldst be included among 
those concerning whom the Most High swears that 
they shall not enter into his rest. He cannot change, 
he cannot lie. When he proclaims the doom of the 
wicked with an oath, it is irrevocable. Neither will 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



137 



he recall his word when it is a word of promise, con- 
firmed by his oath, to inspire with confidence and 
impart strong consolation to those, who have fled 
for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before them. 
Vow unto the Lord and pay thy vows; bind thyself 
to him in covenant to be his for ever. 



13S 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



THE SCORNER. 



A scorner loveth not one that 
reproveth him : neither will he go 
unto the wise. 

Judgments are prepared for 
scorners, and stripes for the back 
of fools. 

A scorner seeketh wisdom, and 
fmdeth it not: but knowledge is 
easy unto him that understandeth. 



Smite a scorner, and the simple 
will beware : and reprove one that 
hath understanding, and he will 
understand knowledge. 

Scornful men bring a city into 
a snare : but wise men turn away 
wrath. 



Sin presents itself under a diversity of aspects, and 
an exhibition of one form of it will often involve others 
with which it is blended. Scorn supposes pride, self- 
conceit, imperiousness, and it is the lofty disdain with 
which one regards whatever belongs to another. The 
scorner being too proud to learn, takes much for grant- 
ed, and hence his judgments are harsh and his con- 
duct precipitate. He disregards laws and customs; 
disdains the opinions and counsels of others ; treats 
things sacred with contempt, and regards even the 
threats of God with defiance. When occupying high 
stations, so far from condescending to those beneath 
him, he holds them in contempt, cares not for their 
good opinion, and will not therefore strive to conciliate 
it. He despises reproof, holds himself superior to all 
accountability, and esteems himself wiser and better 
than those around him. Not only is his feeling 
haughty, but his bearing repulsive. With such a dis- 
position he comes into contact with religion, not with 
the humility and tractableness of a learner, conscious 
of ignorance, but with the proud bearing of one 
who knows every thing already, and is above vulgar 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



139 



prejudices. Nay, every thing sacred is treated as if 
fabulous, and adapted only to the ignorant. He scorns 
to be won by the invitations of the gospel; he scorns 
to be influenced by the threats of the law. To him 
the obligations of religion are a nullity, and hell a 
bugbear. Having walked in the counsels of the un- 
godly, and stood in the way of sinners, he reaches the 
point of hopeless iniquity by sitting in the seat of the 
scornful. How dangerous is such a man when en- 
trusted with power! Pernicious in his example, and 
rash in his policy, he will endanger whatever is com- 
mitted to him. As is his crime, so will be his punish- 
ment. As a despiser of God, God will despise and 
utterly blot out his name, and from his proud eleva- 
tion will hurl him into degradation and ruin. 

My soul, cultivate the temper which is furthest re- 
moved from that of the scornful. Respect thy fellow 
men, and reverence thy God. Distrust thyself; scorn 
not the counsels of the wise, and be ever impressed 
with the solemnities of religion. Thus shalt thou be 
in friendship with God, and escape the judgments 
which he has prepared for scorners. 



140 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



FOLLY. 



Let a bear robbed of her whelps 
meet a man, rather than a fool in 
his folly. 

He that begetteth a fool doeth 
it to his sorrow: and the father of 
a fool hath no joy. 

Though thou shouldest bray a 
fool in a mortar among wheat 



with a pestle, yet will not his fool- 
ishness depart from him. 

It is as sport to a fool to do mis- 
chief: but a man of understand- 
ing hath wisdom. 

He that answereth a matter be- 
fore he heareth it, it is folly and 
shame unto him. 



All sin is folly, but the wise man seems here espe- 
cially to refer to what is now usually intended by the 
term, namely, indiscretion, and want of practical good 
sense. There are none more capricious in their con- 
duct, or less trust-worthy, than persons of this descrip- 
tion. They may be compared to a flimsily construct- 
ed boat cast upon the waves, with sails set, and neither 
ballast nor steersman. They have not knowledge 
enough to steady them, nor discretion enough to man- 
age the helm. The fool always supposes himself to 
be wise, and his presumption never fails to betray his 
ignorance. He has more glibness of tongue than 
activity of brain, and hence he deals more in words 
than ideas. Always prepared, in his own judgment, 
to express an opinion on all subjects, he exposes him- 
self to contempt; and yet he has too little discernment 
to perceive the low estimate in which he is held. Silly 
thoughts, trifling conversation, and frivolous manners, 
are his chief characteristics, and with these he becomes 
the sport or the nuisance of the society into which he 
intrudes. 

If folly always resulted from mental incapacity, it 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



141 



might be pitied if not tolerated; but it is oftener vol- 
untary as resulting from vain self-confidence, which 
despises instruction, and neglects the means of im- 
provement. It refuses to study the proprieties of time 
and place, and hence is always impertinent. In com- 
pany it sets itself before wisdom, and insists upon talk- 
ing when it should be a listener. In deportment it is 
a harlequin, which is ever annoying those around it 
with its caps and bells. There are rich fools, and 
fashionable fools, and fools highly connected, and they 
remain fools under all circumstances ; but of all the 
tribe, the irreligious fool is the most intolerable. He 
rashly ventures where angels fear to tread; he handles 
the mysteries of God with an irreverence that shocks; 
he is confident where wise men modestly hesitate; he 
is flippant and frivolous on themes most sacred and 
awful; in a word, he makes a mock of sin, and says 
in his heart, "There is no God." 

Who has not met with such persons, and who ever 
wishes to meet with them a second time ? Who wishes 
to be exposed to their tongue, and who does not wish 
to keep aloof from their mischievous influences ? A 
cautious man had rather encounter a bear rendered 
furious by the loss of her cubs, than a fool in his folly. 
Solomon regarded this vice as among the most incor- 
rigible. There is no reason to appeal to, no fulcrum on 
which to rest the lever by which they might be moved. 
Reproof reaches them not, correction does not improve 
them; and even if brayed in a mortar, the essential 
folly still remains. Even Solomon seemed perplexed 
to know precisely how to deal with them, and even- 
tually came to the conclusion, that as fools were always 
capricious, so they were to be treated differently under 
different circumstances. There were times when a fool 

13 



142 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



should not be answered according to his folly, lest we 
should be like him; and there were times too when 
he should be answered according to his folly, lest he 
should be wise in his own conceit. Surely the father 
of a fool might rejoice in being childless. 

My soul, let the frequent spectacle of folly render 
thee wise. As the character of a fool is contemptible 
to men, so it is provoking to God. Get wisdom and 
understanding, especially heavenly wisdom, that in 
conversation thou mayest be instructive, and in de- 
portment an example of propriety. To adorn thy 
profession as a Christian, thou needest the wisdom of 
the serpent, as well as the harmlessness of the dove, 
"showing thyself a pattern of good works; in doc- 
trine, showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound 
speech that cannot be condemned, that he that is of the 
contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to 
say of thee." 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



143 



EVIL COMPANY. 



My son, if sinners entice thee, 
consent thou not. 

Cease, my son, to hear the in- 
struction that causeth to err from 
the words of knowledge. 

He that walketh with wise men 
shall be wise; but a companion of 
fools shall be destroyed. 

Enter not into the path of the 
wicked, and go not in the way of 
evil men. 

Avoid it, pass not by it, turn 
from it, and pass away. 

For they sleep not, except they 



have done mischief; and their 
sleep is taken away, unless they 
cause some to fall. 

For they eat the bread of wick- 
edness, and drink the wine of vio- 
lence. 

My son, walk not thou in the 
way with them ; refrain thy foot 
from their path : 

Whoso causeth the righteous to 
go astray in an evil way, he shall 
fall himself into his own pit : but 
the upright shall have good things 
in possession. 



It is a well-considered maxim, that a man is known 
by his company; because intimacy implies a confor- 
mity of views and habits. Contraries repel each 
other; but things that are similar mutually attract. 
As all are born with depraved feelings, the tendency 
in all is to evil conduct. The most careful discipline 
in youth, and the most powerful religious restraints 
are necessary to counteract the downward propensity 
of our nature, and where these are wanting, there is 
feeble hope that the young will be preserved from de- 
basement and ruin. The world abounds with allure- 
ments which charm the senses, and facilities are fur- 
nished on every hand to gratify the appetites. Besides 
the strong impulse to sin from within, Satan has appro- 
priate instrumentalities to call it forth into action. His 
devices are numerous and artful; they are addressed to 
every evil desire; they appeal to every sense; they in- 
sinuate themselves by every avenue into the heart, and 
raise a tumult of passions not easily allayed. If sin were 



144 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



presented in its naked deformity, it would disgust and 
repel; but it is tricked out in every imaginable charm, 
that it may the more certainly entice. It beckons its 
victim under the beautiful impersonation of pleasure: 
but when it gets him in its embrace, it is converted 
into a fury. The fair side alone is exhibited; the con- 
sequences are concealed in the back ground. Is it 
wonderful, the.n, that the inexperienced should be 
ensnared? Is it not more wonderful that any should 
escape ? 

The devices of Satan are seconded by his ready 
agents. The deceived become deceivers in their turn; 
corrupted themselves, they take a malignant pleasure 
in corrupting others. " They sleep not except they 
have done mischief, and their sleep is taken away 
unless they cause some to fall." The experienced in 
vice are forward to impart their knowledge to others. 
With art they approach their victim; they come under 
the semblance of friendship; they shock not his feel- 
ings by too sudden a revelation; they laugh away the 
fears of his conscience, and counteract the influences 
of his education. They glowingly paint the pleasures 
of their pursuits, lead him on step by step, point out 
the way to the haunts of vice, gather around him their 
toils, until he first tastes, and then becomes immersed 
in their vices, and as much a child of hell as them- 
selves. How many credulous youth have been thus 
enticed, each false step preparing the way for further 
declension, until they find themselves hopelessly and 
helplessly hurrying down the precipitous descent! — 
Cursed is the art of the seducer, and awful will be his 
fate ! Upon his withered soul must settle the remorse 
of having blighted many a fair hope, perverted many 
a right principle, and ruined many a precious soul. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



145 



"My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not." 
Trust not their pretended friendship, believe not their 
false representations ; and be admonished, that it is 
not thy welfare, but thy destruction, which they con- 
template. Their enjoyments are deceitful, pain and 
anguish are in their train; and if thou follow in their 
way, thou wilt inevitably find sorrows and regrets, 
which will infinitely counterbalance any temporary 
gratification which they may afford. 

My soul, if thou hast escaped the contagion of cor- 
rupt companions, and the snares of the devil, it is a 
miracle of grace, for which thou shouldst be eternally 
thankful. Thou hast not subdued the lusts of the flesh 
by thine own power; thou hast not defeated the wiles 
of Satan by thine own vigilance ; thou hast not frus- 
trated the plans of evil seducers by thine own firm- 
ness and resolution. It is by the ever watchful 
providence of God, and through the influence of his 
grace, that thou hast been plucked as a brand from 
the burning. Rejoice that thy conscience has not 
been stupefied, that thy principles have not been sub- 
verted, nor evil habits formed to hold thee a captive 
of Satan by an iron grasp. While thy prayer is, that 
thou mayest not be gathered with sinners, take God's 
chosen people as thy loved companions, and delight- 
edly say, 

These are the company I keep, 
These are the choicest friends I know. 

They will not lead thee into evil, but aid thee in thy 
duty, and encourage thee in thy spiritual conflict. 
Their God is thy God, with them thou hast an iden- 
tity of hopes, interests, and pursuits, and thy inti- 
macy with them on earth shall be perpetuated in 
heaven. 

13* 



146 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



STRIPE AND CONTENTION. 



Strive not with a man without 
cause, if he have done thee no 
harm. 

He that passeth by, and med- 
dleth with strife belonging not to 
him, is like one that taketh a dog 
by the ears. 

It is an honour for a man to 
cease from strife : but every fool 
will be meddling. 

A fool's lips enter into conten- 
tion, and his mouth calleth for 
strokes. 

The beginning of strife is as 
when one letteth out water : there- 
fore leave off contention, before it 
be meddled with. 



If a wise man contendeth with 
a foolish man, whether he rage or 
laugh, there is no rest. 

It is better to dwell in the wil- 
derness, than with a contentious 
and angry woman. 

It is better to dwell in the cor- 
ner of the house top, than with a 
brawling woman and in a wide 
house. 

A continual dropping in a very 
rainy day and a contentious wo- 
man are alike. 

Better is a dry morsel, and quiet- 
ness therewith, than an house full 
of sacrifices with strife. 



Alas! that there should be strife among those who 
so much need each other's sympathy and help. In 
the allotment of all, there is inevitable misery enough, 
without an increase from this cause. Separation from 
the friendship of God, with all its attendant sorrows, 
has converted this world into a vale of tears; and yet 
the unhappy sons of men, groping their dark path to 
the tomb, instead of cheering, contend with each other 
by the way. It- is one of the evidences of human 
depravity — one of the proofs that the frowns of oifend- 
ed Deity rest upon our world. Strife and contention 
spring from unsanctified temper; and how do they 
embitter the social relations, putting into an attitude 
of hostility those who should be friends, and, either 
in the neighbourhood or domestic circle, destroying 
the harmony of those who should emulate each other 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



147 



in kindness and iove. Some seem to be in a pecu- 
liar manner born for strife — birds of the storm, whose 
chosen elements are the swelling surge and the roar- 
ing wind. To them, every occasion becomes a sub- 
ject of quarrel ; their anger is easily excited, and, if 
not actually hurried to acts of violence, their tongue 
becomes voluble with abuse. 

We cannot conceive it to be possible, that persons 
thus characterized, should be subjects of divine grace. 
Religion may consist with infirmities of temper; but 
not, we conceive, with a contentious spirit, habitually 
indulged. The Holy Spirit flies from the scenes of 
noise and strife. If it is not consistent with personal 
piety, which implies self-control, neither can there be 
family religion, where there are continual family bick- 
erings: nor spirituality in a church, whose members 
contend with each other in the spirit of the world. 
He that would cultivate intimate communion with 
God, will rather suffer unjustly than contend. 

Beside the domestic discord which is unhappily so 
common, the world is full of strife and litigation. 
Thousands are slaughtered by their fellow T s on the 
field of battle; and even when disputes are not set- 
tled in a manner so inhuman, we find men, on the 
most trivial occasions, avenging their injuries by sum- 
moning each other before the civil tribunals. All the 
multifarious provisions of human laws have become 
necessary, through the prevalence of this disputatious 
temper; and for its suppression, our Lord directed his 
disciples to cultivate forbearance and meekness — " I 
say unto you, that ye resist not evil, but whosoever 
shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the 
other also. And if a man will sue thee at the law, 
and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. 



148 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go 
with him twain." 

While we cannot be too earnest in dissuading men 
from personal strifes, or a too eager defence of them- 
selves and property from slight injuries; we have no 
right to place the interests of God's truth and king- 
dom in the same category with our own personal 
rights. The last may be waived and sacrificed for 
the sake of peace, but not the first. We are to con- 
tend earnestly, though not violently, for the faith once 
delivered to the saints, and we are to do it in the spi- 
rit of saints. It is possible for persons, under pretext 
of zeal for the glory of God, to indulge their own un- 
hallowed passions. To contend for the faith is, on 
all suitable occasions, to manifest a firm adherence to 
the truth, engage in its defence, and cheerfully to 
suffer persecution, rather than by unwarrantable com- 
pliance and compromise, to sacrifice it. We insult 
God, if we suppose the -safety of his cause requires 
the manifestation of an angry temper, or the use of 
reproachful language. Controversialists, even where 
they are in the right, as to the subject matter in dis- 
pute, may do infinite mischief to the cause of truth, 
by mingling their own unsanctified tempers in its de- 
fence; or by contending merely for victory, or in other 
words, for their own glorification. Let it be remem- 
bered, that a kind regard for the welfare of an adver- 
sary, may well consist with an unflinching opposition 
to his errors. 

My soul, dost thou appreciate the divine rule to 
"follow peace with all men," and impose a restraint 
upon thyself, lest thou shouldst be involved in the 
angry strifes of men? Be not too jealous of thy dig- 
nity, as if it would suffer by innocent compliance. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



149 



Strife cannot exist without parties to supply the fire 
with fuel ; take heed that thou be not one of the par- 
ties. Under provocation, let thy tongue be restrained, 
and let the law of kindness be in thy heart. The 
more perfectly thou art sanctified, the less disposition 
will there be to contend; and as thou art a follower 
of the Prince of Peace, let the whole frame of thy 
temper evince this holy alliance. Did not thy Saviour 
leave his peace with thee ? and wilt thou let it be dis- 
turbed by the petty broils of earth? Be a peace- 
maker, and strive to live in an atmosphere undisturbed 
by the storms of strife. If thou art called to contend 
for God's truth, do it faithfully, do it at a self-sacrifice, 
but without the intermingling of bad passions. There 
is one strife, my soul, in which thou mayest engage 
with feelings of implacable revenge against thy adver- 
saries; it is the strife with thine own lusts. Here 
there should be no friendship, no compromise, no truce, 
nought but exterminating war. Thou must fight the 
fight of faith, or lose thy reward. One other strife 
awaits thee, it will be the last. Death is to be en- 
countered; the struggle may be fierce and painful, 
but be not affrighted; thy Lord has conquered and as- 
cended, and through Him thou also wilt triumph, and 
. be enabled to exclaim, " 0 death, where is thy sting, 
0 grave, where is thy victory !" 



150 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



GUILTY APPREHENSIONS. 

The wicked flee when no man pursueth : but the righteous 
are bold as a lion. 

The richest inheritance on earth is " a conscience void 
of offence towards God and man/- and the most ter- 
rible, the apprehension arising from a consciousness 
of guilt. It was a satisfaction to the holy Apostle, 
that he could say, " we have wronged no man, we 
have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man;" 
and with equal explicitness, " I have lived in all good 
conscience before God until this day." It is true, he had 
through " ignorance and unbelief" once been a per- 
secutor of the truth; but he could acquit himself of 
intentional crime. This was no pharisaical boast; he 
did not pride himself in his goodness, or look to it as 
a ground of justification; on the contrary, he esteemed 
all that he had done as loss for Christ's sake, and re- 
nouncing self, he gloried only in the cross. Still it 
was to him, as it would be to every other good man, 
a subject of gratulation and pleasing reflection, that 
he had uniformly aimed to maintain a good conscience. 
The saints, redeemed and sanctified as they are, enjoy 
a still sweeter tranquillity, if, in their unregenerate 
state, they were restrained from flagrant sins. Even 
in them joy receives a check if accompanied by recol- 
lections of heinous sins against God and their fellow- 
men. 

How painful, on the other hand, is a guilty con- 



FOUNTAIN OP WISDOM. 



151 



science which has never been purged by the blood of 
atonement! If the remembrance of the past only 
brings scenes of transgression before us, and the im- 
ages of those we have grievously injured rise up to 
haunt us, how can we enjoy peace of mind? How 
torturing, for instance, is the apprehension of one con- 
scious of having committed a fraud, the detection of 
which would blast his reputation and make him an 
outcast from society! And how timid, shrinking, 
affrighted, the conscience which has upon it the guilt 
of murder! Suicide is often preferred, as an alter- 
native, to such intolerable apprehension. 

If guilt fears detection in this world, and unmans 
the spirit, how much heavier its burden, when the 
sinner is brought to realize his accountability to God, 
the righteous and terrible Judge, who will by no means 
clear the guilty! The impenitent sinner may, in the days 
of health, assume an air of indifference and defiance; 
but when the stern messenger of death approaches, 
what scorpion-lashes does conscience often inflict, 
what terrors hover over his dying pillow, and with 
what dismay does he look forward to the dread eter- 
nity into which he is soon to be hurried! Did he 
possess worlds, these worlds would be eagerly ex- 
changed for a release from his guilty apprehensions. 
Surely not only the end, but the way of the trans- 
gressor is hard. 

My soul, if thou hast been so far restrained in the 
years of thy impenitence, as to have escaped the 
grosser vices, for this thou shouldst be thankful; and 
still more so, if by the blood of sprinkling, conscience 
has been purged and its accusations silenced. Hast 
thou peace? See to it, that it is one which neither 
death nor judgment can disturb. Daily go to the 



152 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



fountain filled with blood, which can wash all thy 
guilt away. Then shall thy peace flow as a river, 
then shall its heavenly influences fill thy heart and 
mind, in anticipation of that state of sinless perfec- 
tion, from which all guilty apprehension shall be 
excluded. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



153 



FALSE CONFIDENCE. 



A wise man feareth, and de- 
parteth from evil: but the fool 
rageth, and is confident. 

Confidence in an unfaithful 
man in time of trouble, is like 



a broken tooth, and a foot out of 
joint. 

There is a way which seemeth 
right unto man, but the end there- 
of are the ways of death. 



The circumstances under which false confidence may- 
be indulged are various, and the dangerous tendencies 
of it, both as it respects present and future interests, 
should excite caution. In avoiding it we should not, 
by general distrust, fall into the opposite extreme. It 
is no reason that we should confide in nothing because 
we cannot confide in every thing. Although David 
could not rely upon the professions of Saul, yet he 
could safely confide in the friendship of Jonathan ; 
and so, while there are many cases in which a false 
confidence would betray us, there are many others, in 
which a true one would avail us. One who trusts in 
earthly riches, as possessing the power to impart hap- 
piness, will certainly be disappointed, as in no one 
instance has such expectation been realized; but there 
are "true riches" on which the soul may securely re- 
pose. Another, who trusts to the promises of earthly 
friends, may find them deserting him in adversity; 
but there is a Christian friendship which should in- 
spire confidence, and there is a Friend in heaven who 
" sticketh closer than a brother." Calculations found- 
ed on the permanency of health and present outward 
condition may prove deceitful; but there are other 
things which form a safe basis of calculation. 

The false confidence which involves the interests of 

14 



154 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



the soul, is much more to be dreaded than that which 
merely exposes to temporal disappointments and 
losses. Religion is man's first and great concern, and 
yet how few comparatively seriously regard it, and 
rightly understand it. Instead of diligently seeking 
from authentic sources a knowledge of its demands 
and prohibitions, its promises and threatening^ the 
multitude content themselves with vague and loose 
notions, by which they are fatally led astray. One 
maintains a decent exterior and relies upon his free- 
dom from gross vice as a sufficient guaranty of his 
final acceptance: another, although regardless of 
every obligation, imagines that at the close of life he 
may escape the consequences of his sin by a hurried 
repentance; and still a third, by a perversion of di- 
vine truth, expunges hell from his creed, and trusts 
his soul to the fiction of universal salvation. Where 
these and similar errors are entertained, men become 
reconciled to their spiritual alienation from God, and 
heap up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath. 
Few are so desperate as to have abandoned their hope 
of final salvation, and yet few put themselves to the 
trouble of ascertaining the soundness of their hope, 
and, by fervent piety, affording the evidence, that they 
are pressing towards the mark for the prize, which is 
promised only to the self-denied and humble, the holy 
and devout followers of Jesus. False confidence lis 
indeed the master device of Satan, and his chief tri- 
umph is in seeing it swept away at a moment, when 
man most needs a steadfast faith. There are many 
ways which seem right to men, while the end of them 
turns out to be the way of death. They are self- 
confident, they disregard timely warning, are willing 
to be deceived, and thus they pass the brief season of 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 155 

their earthly sojourn, hugging their errors, until the 
truth, too late, bursts upon their astonished view, and 
their ruin becomes inevitable. 

Happy art thou, 0 my soul, if thy confidence re- 
poses in the unerring promises of thy covenant God. 
The heavens may depart and the earth be removed, 
but the word of thy God endureth for ever. Hast thou 
built thy hope on the Rock of Ages? Hast thou 
made Christ all thy salvation and desire? Through 
his Spirit hast thou been sanctified? Then thy confi- 
dence shall not disappoint thee. Thou knowest in 
whom thou hast believed, and thou mayest well be 
persuaded of his ability to keep that which thou hast 
entrusted to him. What a blessed condition, which can- 
not be affected by the vicissitudes of time, and which 
shall be rendered permanent in eternity ! Hear thou the 
word of the Lord: "Let not the wise man glory in 
his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his 
might. Let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let 
him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth 
and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise 
loving kindness, judgment and righteousness in the 
earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord." 



156 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



WARNINGS AGAINST LICENTIOUSNESS. 



The mouth of strange women is 
a deep pit ; he that is abhorred of 
the Lord shall fall therein. 

For the lips of a strange woman 
drop as an honeycomb, and her 
mouth is smoother than oil : 

But her end is bitter as worm- 
wood, sharp as a two-edged sword. 

Her feet go down to death ; her 
steps take hold on hell. 

Hear me now therefore, O ye 
children, and depart not from the 
words of my mouth. 

Remove thy way far from her, 
and come not nigh the door of her 
house : 

Lest thou give thine honour un- 
to others, and thy years unto the 
cruel : 

Lest strangers be filled with thy 
wealth; and thy labours be in the 
house of a stranger ; 

And thou mourn at the last, 
when thy flesh and thy body are 
consumed, 

And say, How have I hated in- 
struction, and my heart despised 
reproof ; 

And have not obeyed the voice 
of my teachers, nor inclined mine 
ear to them that instructed me ! 

I was almost in all evil in the 
midst of the congregation and 
assembly. 

For the commandment is a 
lamp; and the law is light; and 
reproofs of instruction are the way 
of life: 



To keep thee from the evil 
woman, from the flattery of the 
tongue of a strange woman. 

Lust not after her beauty in 
thine heart ; neither let her take 
thee with her eyelids. 

For by means of a whorish wo- 
man a man is brought to a piece 
of bread : and the adulteress will 
hunt for the precious life. 

Can a man take fire in his bo- 
som, and his clothes not be burned? 

Can one go upon hot coals, and 
his feet not be burned ? 

So he that goeth in to his neigh- 
bour's wife ; whosoever toucheth 
her shall not be innocent. 

Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth 
his father : but he that keepeth 
company with harlots spendeth 
his substance. 

For her house inclineth unto 
death, and her paths unto the dead. 

None that go unto her return 
again, neither take they hold of 
the paths of life. 

Whoso is simple, let him turn in 
hither : and as for him that want- 
eth understanding, she saith to 
him, 

Stolen waters are sweet, and 
bread eaten in secret is pleasant. 

But he knoweth not that the 
dead are there ; and that her guests 
are in the depths of hell. 

Her house is the way to hell, 
going down to the chambers of 
death. 



In eastern countries, where custom, instead of elevat- 
ing woman to an equality with man, and regarding 
her as his endeared companion and adviser, in whose 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



157 



sympathy and love he may find his sweetest solace, 
degrades her to be the minister of his sensual gratifi- 
cations, it is not surprising that no high standard of 
morals should be observed by either sex. In Chris- 
tian countries, just in proportion as the spirit of the 
gospel is infused into the laws and customs of society, 
and woman occupies her appropriate station, there is 
a higher reverence for virtue, the brightest examples 
of which are found in the gentler sex. Partaking, 
however, as they do^ of a sinful and fallen nature, 
they may and often do fall from their high estate, and 
having once forfeited their place in society, and in- 
curred the ban of excommunication,, they become the 
tempters of others. Solomon refers to the abandoned 
woman, whose arts are employed to ensnare the un- 
wary ; and who, being herself betrayed, becomes a be- 
trayer in her turn. The loss of chastity is an evil not 
to be repaired, and from which the unhappy victim 
seldom emerges. 

The dangers to which young men are exposed, in 
giving a loose rein to their licentious passions, are here 
strikingly portrayed, and the picture is one which 
suits all ages and countries. In large cities especially, 
how numerous are the temptations and facilities to 
vice of this kind ; and when youth, impelled by pas- 
sion, and unchecked by the restraints of religion, come 
within the vortex, how seldom do they escape ! In 
such circumstances we can but raise the warning 
voice. 

All the precepts of God's law, which require purity 
of heart, and the consecration of the body as an in- 
strument of righteousness unto holiness, are violated 
by the unchaste. The soul which should bear the 
image of God, is defiled in its imaginations, and pol- 

14* 



15S 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



luted in its affections, and the body, which should be 
the temple of the Holy Ghost, partakes of the degra- 
dation and dishonour. This is a sin which perhaps 
more than any other, alienates the heart from God, 
and excludes it from communion with heaven. It 
is a sin against the best laws of human society, tram- 
pling upon the sacred relations of life, invading the 
peace of families, despoiling the heart of its best affec- 
tions, and the mind of its noblest sentiments, creating 
discords and dissensions, and covering more than its 
perpetrators with shame and disgrace. To the soul it 
brings disquietude, anxiety, remorse, and the intolera- 
ble curse of God, and to the body, disease and death. 
It is a pregnant source of other flagrant crimes; drunk- 
enness is its companion, and murder often stalks in 
its train ; and what adds terrible emphasis to the de- 
scription, it is a sin which is seldom repented of, and 
which more than any other damns the soul and peo- 
ples the regions of the lost! How dearly are its 
gratifications purchased! with what disquieting pains, 
loss of 'self-respect, injury to reputation, ruin to peace 
of mind! How terrible are the weapons it furnishes 
to conscience ! what terrors does it gather around a 
dying bed! How deep the gloom it casts upon the 
future! It may for a season throw around itself a 
thousand fascinations, but sooner or later it will " a 
fury frown." 0 young man, be warned and flee the 
danger. Beware of the seductions of the already 
initiated, flee youthful lusts, and solicit the aids of 
religion to shield thee from the danger. 

My soul, remember the source of this sin. It has 
its origin in the heart, and there it must be encounter- 
ed. " Lust when it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin, 
and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." If 



% 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



159 



thou wouldst avoid the deadly result, thou must con- 
tend against the impure beginnings. The inward 
chamber of imagery must be purged ; there must be 
no tampering with sin in thought, and a covenant 
must be made with the eyes. Appeal to a divine 
power for aid. God can preoccupy the mind with 
holy thoughts, strengthen every virtuous attempt, and 
deliver thee from the snare of the fowler. Others 
have triumphed, so mayest thou. Aim to be holy as 
the angels, holy as God, and to all the blandishments 
of vice give Joseph's noble answer, " How can I do 
this great wickedness, and sin against God?" 



160 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



CONTRITION AND OBDURACY. 

He that covereth his sins shall ! Happy is the man that feareth 
not prosper : but whoso confesseth j always : but he that hardeneth his 
and forsaketh them shall have ' heart shall fall into mischief, 
mercy. 

All men, by nature, are in the same condition of sin, 
but all have not the same sense of this condition. To 
some it appears in its true colours, as one of fearful 
responsibility and danger; whilst to others it is a 
source of no painful apprehension. According to the 
divine testimony, the whole race of man is apostate 
from God and exposed to his wrath and curse. Still 
most men are too insensible to be conscious of their 
guilt, too deaf to hear the thunders of Sinai, and too 
blind to perceive the terrible fate that awaits them. 
They will not be convinced that sin is their ruin, and 
they will not be persuaded to forsake it. Its false and 
deceitful pleasures have more charms for them than its 
punishment has terrors; hence they can turn a deaf 
ear to the expostulations of God and to the invitations 
of the gospel, and look without emotion on the scenes 
of Gethsemane and Calvary. Their conscience is 
perverted, and their heart, like an adamant, im- 
penetrable. Such is the state of most men, and a 
truly awful one it is. They are surrounded by cir- 
cumstances which might well awaken them, but they 
sleep on; and while the infinitely important concerns 
of eternity are disregarded, they indulge their lusts 
without compunction, and eagerly pursue the vanities 
of the world. Every thing is viewed by them through 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



161 



a distorting medium, which magnifies temporal, and 
diminishes eternal things. They are not only indif- 
ferent but obdurate. The fate of such is certain. If 
the dying man obstinately refuses the only medicine 
that can heal him, he hastens his own doom, and the 
fault is his own; and if the sinner will not relent, 
but clings to his lusts, rejects the Saviour, incurs the 
forfeiture of heaven, and braves the wrath of God, 
must miserably perish and that without remedy. 

Such, however, is not the character of all. The 
word of God finds an entrance into some hearts, the 
obstinacy of which becomes subdued by an humbling 
repentance. They obtain an insight into their own 
souls, and detect the deep depravity there; are con- 
vinced of the heinousness of sin, and become alarmed 
at their danger; turn their eyes to the cross, and seek 
an interest in the atoning blood of the Lamb. How 
different the light in which they now view themselves ! 
They offer no vain apologies, and instead of covering, 
they confess their sins and forsake them. Repentance 
to be genuine must be founded on a conviction of the 
evil nature, as well as the evil consequences of sin; 
it must have respect to all sin, lead to its renunciation, 
and to a hearty endeavour after new obedience. As 
it implies on our part a return to God, so on his part 
it secures a restoration of his life-giving favour. A 
broken and a contrite heart is a sacrifice well pleasing 
in his sight; and while he beholds the proud and ob- 
durate sinner afar off, he has respect to the lowly. 

0 my soul, thou hast reason for everlasting thank- 
fulness, if thou hast been led to mourn over thy sinful 
condition and repent of thy sinful practice. The Spirit 
of God has made to thee the discovery, which has led 
thee to humble thyself. It is he that tore from 



162 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



thy sins their covering; that exhibited to thy view 
Christ crucified; that touched thee with a sense of 
thy ingratitude, and brought thee down from thy tow- 
ering pride to the dust of self-abasement. Pray for 
still greater discoveries, for still deeper humiliation; 
and for thy daily, hourly sins, prostrate thyself before 
God and ask his forgiveness. It is thy happiness that 
he can forgive without dishonour to himself, and that 
he has promised that they that confess and forsake 
their sins shall obtain mercy. Like David and Peter, 
repent and return to duty, with renewed alacrity and 
zeal; and expose not thyself to the hopeless and fruit- 
less repentance of Judas, who, when ruin was impend- 
ing, could only look on Christ as insulted and betrayed. 
Better to feel the sorrows of contrition now, than 
the despair and remorse of hell hereafter. As thou 
art always sinning, be always repenting; and hourly 
come for a fresh ablution in that blood which cleanseth 
from all sin. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



163 



UNACCEPTABLE WORSHIP. 



The sacrifice of the wicked is 
an abomination : how much more, 
when he bringth it with a wicked 
mind. 

The thoughts of the wicked are 
an abomination to the Lord : but 



the words of the pure are pleasant 
words. 

He that turneth away his ear 
from hearing the law, even his 
prayer shall be abomination. 



There is, it is probable, no nation under heaven, 
however rude or barbarous, which has not some form 
of religious worship. A sense of Deity, with what- 
ever obscurity and perversion of view attended, im- 
pels men to recognize the existence of a superior 
being, and to render him homage. The abominable 
fancies and polluted rites of heathenism demonstrate 
how completely the native depravity of the heart 
may obliterate the true evidences of Deity which the 
works of creation furnish, and pervert the very nature 
and design of religious worship. Their imaginations 
being vain and their foolish hearts darkened, " they 
change the glory of the incorruptible God into an 
image made like to corruptible man, and to birds and 
four footed beasts and creeping things." We need 
scarcely say that the worship offered to idols, must 
prove unacceptable to the true God. 

Our reference, at present, is more particularly to 
another class of worshippers. Many who are sur- 
rounded by the light of Christianity, and have a clear 
and explicit revelation of the will of God on this 
subject, may err as fatally as do the heathen. Our 
Lord has assured us that they who would worship 



164 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



God acceptably, must do it in spirit and in truth. They 
must have intelligent views of his character, approach 
him by the way which he has constituted, cultivate 
the right frame and temper of mind, and present the 
sacrifice which he requires. All these particulars are 
fully explained and insisted on in the Holy Scrip- 
tures. Now can we suppose that God will accept as 
a substitute for this worship, an empty form or lip 
service in which the heart has no interest? Will he 
accept the words of thanksgiving where there is no 
gratitude; or the tender of homage where there is no 
reverence; or the expression of desires which are not 
felt : or the professions of love which are insincere ? 
Has he required such a sacrifice as this ? When he 
demands humility, will he accept pride? or when he 
requires contrition, will he be satisfied with impeni- 
tence? or will he accept cherished impurity for holi- 
ness? If it be essential to acceptable worship, that 
the heart should be sincere; that it should have an 
humbling sense of its sinfulness and dependence, and 
that it should not only express a gratitude that is felt, 
but solicit further favours as being truly desired; then 
what becomes of the offering of the hypocrite ? What 
will avail all the empty ceremonies of the formalist ? 
If the throne of grace be accessible only in one way, 
how can God look with complaisance on those who 
set aside the only Mediator, or rely on mediators who 
have no power to press their suit? We profanely 
mock God if we profess adoration for his perfections, 
and yet secretly wish that his nature were not so holy, 
nor his law so strict ; if we confess sins without any 
wish or intention to forsake them ; or ask for salvation 
without approving his plan, or having any disposition 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



165 



to walk in that narrow way through which alone it 
can be obtained. 

Not only is the sacrifice of the wicked and their 
very prayer an abomination to God, but even the 
worship of true Christians may be vitiated by care- 
lessness and inattention, and especially by the enter- 
tainment of any improper feeling or disposition. The 
single case referred to by our Lord, may sufficiently 
indicate the state of mind in which the Christian is to 
appear at the mercy seat. "If thou bring thy gift to 
the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath 
aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the 
altar and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy bro- 
ther, and then come offer thy gift." The holy fire of 
devotion cannot burn brightly in an impure and foul 
atmosphere. We rise to God only in proportion as 
we lay aside our weights and especially easily beset- 
ting sins. 

0 my soul, thou canst live and be in health only in 
close proximity with God; and how canst thou ap- 
proach him if uncrucified sin obscures thy faith, chills 
thy love, and obstructs thy path? Thy God is holy, 
and he requires a holy worship, a spiritual worship, 
a heart worship. Satisfy not thyself with a regular 
attention to forms ; but strive to infuse life and feeling 
into them. It is thy privilege to be much in the divine 
presence, and it should be thy pleasure to adore his 
matchless perfections; to thank him for his mercies ; 
to confess with contrition thy sins, and to ask him to 
bestow, in covenant love, the things which are requi- 
site and necessary as well for the body as the soul. 
Thy God is a hearer of prayer; let him therefore often 
hear thy importunity. Thou hast a glorious High 
Priest; who has passed into the heavens; be therefore 

15 



166 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



emboldened to come in his name to obtain grace to 
help in time of need. Here, thou must necessarily 
worship God amid many imperfections; but look with- 
in the veil, behold the angels and the spirits of the 
just made perfect, hear [their enraptured strains of 
praise, and be encouraged to believe that thou shalt 
soon join their glorious assembly and mingle in their 
worship, without any of those sinful hindrances which 
now repress thy aspirations. 

0 glorious hour ! O blest abode, 

1 shall be near and like my God : 
And flesh and sin no more control 
The sacred ^'pleasures of the soul. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



167 



CHARACTER AND FATE OF THE WICKED. 



Fools make a mock at sin : but 
among the righteous there is fa- 
vour. 

An ungodly man diggeth up 
evil : and in his lips there is as a 
burning fire. 

A righteous man hateth lying : 
but a wicked man is loathsome, 
and cometh to shame. 

The wicked worketh a deceitful 
work: but to him that soweth right- 
eousness shall be a sure reward. 

Though hand join in hand, the 
wicked shall not be unpunished: 
but the seed of the righteous shall 
be delivered. 

When the wicked are multiplied, 
transgression increaseth : but the 
righteous shall see their fall. 

Folly is joy to him that is des- 
titute of wisdom: but a man of 
understanding walketh uprightly. 



A man shall not be established 
by wickedness: but the root of 
the righteous shall not be moved. 

The way of the wicked is an 
abomination unto the Lord : but 
he loveth him that followeth after 
righteousness. 

As righteousness tendeth to life: 
so he that pursueth evil pursueth 
it to his own death. 

The house of the wicked shall 
be overthrown : but the tabernacle 
of the upright shall flourish. 

When a wicked man dieth, his 
expectation shall perish : and the 
hope of unjust men perisheth. 

The memory of the just is 
blessed : but the name of the wick- 
ed shall rot. 

The wicked shall be cut off 
from the earth, and the transgres- 
sors shall be rooted out. 



In the nomenclature of the world, the term "wicked" 
is almost exclusively applied to those who are aban- 
doned in principle and practice. The bold and im- 
pious blasphemer, the mad atheist, the perpetrator 
of such vices as endanger the lives and property 
of the community, would, by common consent, be 
thus classed. It is too common, however, to employ 
a softening and exculpatory phraseology to designate 
vices which are equally heinous in the sight of God; 
but which, in some degree, may be divested of their 
repulsive grossness. A gentlemanly profligate will 
often escape censure, where a vulgar one would be 
condemned without mercy; because vice in the one 



168 



FOUNTAIN OP WISDOM. 



instance is accompanied by a certain air of refinement, 
of which, in the other, it is destitute. It is astonish- 
ing with what facility an irreligious world strips the 
law of God of its prohibitions, and how adapted to 
the inclinations of the libertine is the code of morals 
which it prescribes in its stead. If they admit the 
sanctions of the divine law at all, they would confine 
their application to outlaws alone. 

Still the word of the Lord is immutable. All un- 
righteousness is, in his sight, sin, by whomsoever 
committed; and under the general head of wickedness 
are included not only the more flagrant vices, but 
sins of every grade, and the unbelief of the heart from 
which they all proceed. The first great characteristic 
of a sinner is his unbelief, which more openly or se- 
cretly discredits whatever God has revealed, respect- 
ing human duty and its sanctions. Connected with 
this, and of which it is a principal part, is a native de- 
pravity, every feeling of which is in opposition to God 
and holiness; and then, to crown all, the overt acts of 
transgression which are the development of the in- 
ward principles. A wicked man, therefore, is one 
whose heart is alienated from God ; who makes light 
of the doctrines and precepts of the gospel; who dis- 
regards his moral obligations ; obeys the impulses of 
an unsanctified heart; and who daily breaks the com- 
mandments of God in thought, word, and deed. All 
the irreligious who have not abandoned their sin and 
returned to their allegiance to God, are embraced 
under this character, although they may not publicly 
be chargeable with profanity, licentiousness, fraud, 
falsehood, or cruelty. A mere restraint imposed on 
the outward conduct has no effect in changing the 
moral condition of the heart. There are certainly 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



169 



different degrees of guilt and blame-worthiness, and 
due credit is to be accorded to the outwardly moral, 
in comparison with the abandoned; still it is not to be 
concealed that all unregenerate men, in despite of 
these differences, are, in the sight of God, the wicked 
upon whom abideth the wrath of God. The wicked- 
ness of which we speak is universally diffused. There 
is no favoured spot on earth where its polluting traces 
may not be detected. If we do not see it breaking 
forth, at every step we take, in shocking acts of de- 
pravity, we still observe it in the general disregard of 
men for religion, and in their engrossing devotion to 
merely temporal pursuits. Believers in Jesus are the 
exception to the general rule. They are few in com- 
parison with the whole mass. 

Now there is nothing more true than that every sin 
deserves God's wrath and curse; and except by a 
special intervention, such as the gospel provides, it 
shall be thus visited. The world is already under con- 
demnation; and its righteous Governor is even now 
expressing his abhorrence for sin by the sufferings, in 
mind and body, which are inflicted on our race. Man 
is not permitted to go onward in his career of sin, even 
for the very limited period of his present life, without 
interruptions. He has disquietude of mind, bitter 
disappointments, sad bereavements, painful and loath- 
some diseases, and the certainty ever staring him in 
the face, that he must soon bid adieu to all the loved 
scenes of earth, and make his dwelling in the grave. 
Even amidst his most exquisite enjoyments he is sub- 
ject to the check, that they must soon end, and that in 
sorrow. He knows not what a day or even an hour 
may bring forth. Did death close the scene and put 
a period to his existence, it might still be tolerable ; 

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170 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



but conscience tells him there is an endless futurity. 
The soul never ceases to exist, and the wicked cannot 
promise themselves even the wretched hope of anni- 
hilation. The anger of God, which is known here 
only in very partial exhibitions, is an eternal anger, 
and it will be inflicted by an omnipotent hand. All 
human language must fail to portray the intensity of 
that suffering which awaits the finally impenitent. 
Who can conceive of an immortal soul suffering under 
an eternal anguish; always dying and yet never 
permitted to die ! A man on earth, excruciated by 
acute pain, may count his sufferings by hours, but the 
lost soul, as it cries out, " when shall a moment of 
respite come hears no response but Eternity ! The 
smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever. 
0 could human eyes pierce the dark abyss; could 
human ears catch the notes of wailing and wo ; 
could the indescribable scenes which are at this 
moment transacting in that dark prison house be dis- 
closed; the w r orld would stand mute with dread — its 
business and its pleasures would in a moment be cast 
aside as impertinent. Still it is all as real as if seen : 
the immutable God has avouched its truth; and if 
men will not believe him, speaking in his word, neither 
would they believe a messenger from the invisible 
world. What madness in men to defy God, and 
brave the terrors of his unquenchable wrath ! 

0 my soul, thou mayest well tremble when thou 
rememberest the hole of the pit whence thou wert 
digged ; and thou mayest well be sad when thou re- 
flectest, that many of thy fellow-creatures, and per- 
haps dear kindred, are still exposed, in their impeni- 
tency, to all the fury of the divine anger. Thou hast 
deserved hell, and yet by a miracle of grace thou hast 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



171 



escaped. Forget not all his benefits who has plucked 
thee as a brand from the burning ; and if thou art 
now enabled to rejoice in thy deliverance, still remem- 
ber those who are yet exposed. With earnestness 
plead with them to flee from the wrath to come ; and 
with importunity plead for them with thy God and 
Saviour. Pity their condition, for they have eyes 
but see not, ears but hear not, neither do they under- 
stand. They go on as the ox to the slaughter, little 
dreaming of the fate which awaits them. Let them 
not sleep in such peril, if thou canst disturb their 
slumber ; suffer them not to hasten to their dreadful 
doom, if thy tears and entreaties can prevail with 
them. How blessed to be instrumental in saving a 
soul from death, and in covering from the judgment 
to come the multitude of its sins ! 



172 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



THE WICKED NOT TO BE ENVIED. 



Be not thou envious against 
evil men, neither desire to be with 
them. 

For their heart studieth destruc- 
tion, and their lips talk of mischief. 

Envy thou not the oppressor, 
and choose none of his ways. 

Fret not thyself because of evil 



men, neither be thou envious at 
the wicked; 

For there shall be no reward to 
the evil man ; the candle of the 
wicked shall be put out. 

Let not thine heart envy sin- 
ners : bat be thou in the fear of 
the Lord all the day long. 



The Psalmist, in one of his divine songs, expressed 
the extreme perplexity of his mind, in solving the 
providence of God, by which the wicked were per- 
mitted to enjoy great outward prosperity. There 
were in his day, as there are at present, instances of 
ungodly persons who possessed as much of this world 
as the most covetous could desire; and who, in finish- 
ing their career, were exempt from the apprehensions, 
which, to the dying sinner, are often the precursors of 
the wrath to come. In other words they lived in the 
enjoyment of prosperity, and met death with insensi- 
bility. The contemplation of this fact staggered his 
faith, and his " steps had well nigh slipped." Not 
only this, but, comparing their exemption with his 
own peculiar sorrows, he confesses that he was " en- 
vious of the foolish." His doubts, however, were 
soon rebuked, and he was convinced that he had no 
reason to envy the wicked. " When I thought to 
know this," says he, " it was too painful for me; until 
I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I 
their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery 
places, thou castedst them down into destruction. 



FOUNTAIN OP WISDOM. 



173 



How are they brought into desolation as in a moment, 
they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream 
when one awaketh, so, 0 Lord, when thou awakest, 
thou shalt despise their image — so foolish was I, [and 
ignorant." In another psalm, he alludes to the same 
subject, without, however, expressing any of this 
perplexity. " Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, 
neither be thou envious against the workers of iniqui- 
ty ; for they shall soon be cut down like the grass, 
and wither as the green herb. I have seen the wicked 
in great power, and spreading himself like a green 
bay tree; yet he passed away, and lo, he was not; 
yea, I sought him, but he could not be found." 

It is true that the wicked often prosper. As they 
have no thought or desire beyond the world, and 
devote themselves to its acquisition, they obtain a 
large share of its wealth, honours, and political 
influence. This is their inheritance — alas, their only 
one. On the contrary, Christians are taught to expect 
tribulations, and are forbidden to set their affections 
on earthly treasures ; and hence the contrast between 
their outward condition, and that of the wicked is 
often remarkable. There are seasons when a weak 
faith may be staggered by this' unequal distribution, 
and it becomes a problem of difficult solution, why 
the providence of God should thus enrich the wicked, 
and apparently render their allotment in life so much 
easier and more comfortable, than that of the righteous. 
Even dissatisfaction and envy may spring up in the 
heart, to arraign the wisdom and justice of God. 
Eminent saints, who have passed through this ordeal, 
have recorded their experience for the instruction of 
those who are to succeed them. They have told us 
that God is the interpreter of his own mysterious 



174 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



providences, and will eventually make them intelli- 
gible. 

There are various considerations, which should 
satisfy the people of God that it is unreasonable in 
them to envy the prosperity of the wicked, and they 
are such as these : 1. Outward prosperity is by no 
means an infallible mark of God's favour, for it is 
often bestowed on the wicked that it may destroy 
them. 2. It does not realize its promises; and, how- 
ever imposing its appearance, it may be attended with 
great personal unhappiness. 3. In the experience of 
Christians, it has been found to be a hindrance, rather 
than a means of promoting their ultimate and chief 
good. 4. As it is temporary at best, and liable to 
sudden changes, it is a miserable inheritance for an 
immortal man, if it be his only one. Now, if it is 
no evidence of the divine favour, if it exposes to the 
most dangerous temptations, if it assists not the soul 
in its heavenly flight, if, in most instances, it is suc- 
ceeded by the ruin and despair of the soul, should its 
possessors be envied? "What shall it profit a man, 
if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" 
What would not the most prosperous sinner, when he 
sinks into perdition, give in exchange for his soul ? If 
permitted to begin his career anew, would he not form 
a very different estimate of things, and willingly pre- 
fer poverty, obscurity, contempt, and pain, with the 
fear of God, to the pride, ostentation, and carnal 
enjoyments of his former condition ? Surely he 
would. The wicked are to be pitied, rather than 
envied. All their wealth and splendour are but the 
gaudy trappings of the victim which is destined to be 
sacrificed. 

My soul, wilt thou envy sinners? They have 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



175 



made a sad choice in preferring the world to heaven, 
and soon will they be awakened to the full conscious- 
ness of their folly. Their enjoyments are fitful, and 
will soon terminate, if not by sudden reverses, at least 
in death. Their sun will go down in endless night, 
a night never to be cheered by the star of hope. And 
canst thou envy them their short-lived happiness? 
Shouldst thou not rather mourn over their infatua- 
tion? Be thou content with little of this world, for 
thou hast a better portion. As a traveller, thou 
shouldst not wish to be incumbered on thy journey; 
and thou may est cheerfully encounter the little priva-' 
tions of the way, as there is a glorious recompense of 
reward and joy waits thee on thy arrival at thy hea- 
venly home. 

To confirm the contrast which has been drawn 
between the righteous and the wicked, we subjoin an 
additional selection from the remarks of Solomon, 
which are recommended to the prayerful considera- 
tion of those who would "know wisdom and get 
understanding — 



The righteousness of the perfect 
shall direct his way : but the wick- 
ed shall fall by his own wickedness. 

The righteousness of the upright 
shall deliver them : but transgres- 
sors shall be taken in their own 
naughtiness. 

The righteous is delivered out 
of trouble, and the wicked cometh 
in his stead. 

An hypocrite with his mouth 
destroyeth his neighbour: but 
through knowledge shall the just 
be delivered. 

When it goeth well with the 
righteous, the city rejoiceth : and 
when the wicked perish, there is 
shouting. 



By the blessing of the upright 
the city is exalted: but it is over- 
thrown by the mouth of the wick- 
ed. 

A good man obtaineth favour of 
the Lord: but a man of wicked 
devices will he condemn. 

Behold, the righteous shall be 
recompensed in the earth : much 
more the wicked and the sinner. 

The integrity of the upright 
shall guide them : but the per- 
verseness of transgressors shall 
destroy them. 

Whoso despiseth the word shall 
be destroyed : but he that feareth 
the commandment shall be re- 
warded. 



176 FOUNTAIN 

In the trangression of an evil 
man there is a snare : but the 
righteous doth sing and rejoice. 

The hope of the righteous shall 
be gladness : but the expectation 
of the wicked shall perish. 

The way of the Lord is strength 
to the upright: but destruction 
shall be to the workers of ini- 
quity. 

Blessings are upon the head of 
the just : but violence covereth the 
mouth of the wicked. 

As the whirlwind passeth, so is 
the wicked no more : but the right- 
eous is an everlasting foundation. 

Evil pursueth sinners : but to 
the righteous good shall be repaid. 

For a just man falleth seven 
times, and riseth up again : but 
the wicked shall fall into mis- 
chief. 

They that are of a froward 
heart are abomination to the Lord: 
but such as are upright in their 
way are his delight. 

For the froward is abomination 
to the Lord : but his secret is with 
the righteous. 

Frowardness is in his heart, he 



OF WISDOM. 

deviseth mischief continually; he 
soweth discord. 

Therefore shall his calamity 
come suddenly ; suddenly shall he 
be broken without remedy. 

There shall no evil happen to 
the just: but the wicked shall be 
filled with mischief. 

A wicked doer giveth heed to 
false lips ; and a liar giveth ear to 
a naughty tongue. 

Good understanding giveth fa- 
vour: but the way of transgres- 
sors is hard. 

He that diligently seeketh good 
procureth favour: but he that seek- 
eth mischief, it shall come unto 
him. 

These six things doth the Lord 
hate : yea, seven are an abomina- 
tion unto him : 

A proud look, a lying tongue, 
and hands that shed innocent 
blood, 

An heart that deviseth wicked 
imaginations, feet that be swift in 
running to mischief, 

A false witness that speaketh 
lies, and he that soweth discord 
among brethren. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



177 



THE UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 

Boast not thyself of to-morrow ; for thou knowest not what 
a day may bring forth. 

There is nothing which forms a more uncertain 
ground of calculation than the continuance of time, 
and yet there is nothing on which more extravagant 
calculations are based. The scheming and ambitious 
confidently look forward to the object of their desires 
through a long vista of years. The scholar, while 
exhausting the midnight oil, and, in the intensity of 
his application, imperceptibly, but fatally undermining 
his health, is sustained by the expectation that, in 
coming years, he will receive the meed of applause. 
The soldier, with his eye fixed on the highest rank in 
his profession, presses towards it through fields of 
blood and slaughter, as if he himself were invulner- 
able to the stroke of death. The agriculturist, in his 
successful operations, lays down his plans for pulling 
down his old barns and building larger ones, un- 
mindful, that in the midst of his preparations, his soul 
may be required of him. The merchant, forgetting 
the casualties of long voyages and journeys, makes 
his arrangement to go to a distant city and there 
to abide a year, buying, selling, and getting gain, 
although he knows not what may be on the morrow. 
The young man and the maiden, in the commence- 
ment of their career, behold in long perspective, the 
prosperous and happy scenes through which they ex- 
pect to pass, little imagining that the shadows of death 

16 



178 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



may settle on the brow in which age has ploughed 
no furrows. Thus men, in all situations of life, are 
engaged in trading on an imaginary capital. 

"What is our life? It is even a vapour which ap- 
peareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." 
Human life is of such brief continuance, that it is 
numbered by days, months, and years, and not by 
centuries. The Holy Scriptures so beautifully, and 
yet so affectingly describe the brevity and uncertainty 
of our earthly sojourn, as to supersede the necessity 
of all other language. " Man that is born of woman, 
is of few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth 
like a flower, and is cut down, he fleeth also as a 
shadow, and continueth not." u Our days on earth 
are as a shadow, and there is none abiding." " Our 
days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle." " Our 
days are swifter than a post, they fly away. They 
are passed away as the swift ships, and as the eagle 
that hasteth to the prey." " Lord, make me to know 
mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is, 
that I may know how frail I am. Behold thou hast 
made my days as a handbreadth, and mine age is as 
nothing before thee: verily every man at his best 
estate is altogether vanity." 

In view of this, may we not well say, " Boast not 
thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a 
day may bring forth." Stake nothing on those cal- 
culations which involve the probability of life's con- 
tinuance; but whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do 
it with thy might. There may be for us time in re- 
serve, but there may not be. Our mortal frames may, 
for a long series of years, withstand the shocks which 
fall upon it. It may escape the flood and earthquake, 
remain unscathed amidst the pestilence, triumph over 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



179 



disease, and be destined to sink under the gradual 
decays of age; but — it may crumble into ruins under 
the first rude assault, and in its prime and vigour, the 
decree may be executed, "dust thou art, and unto 
dust shalt thou return." The point of observation 
from which we now, in fancy, view the scenery of 
future years, may be the last we shall reach. The 
next step may be a descent into the dark valley and 
shadow of death. Is it so ? The experience of the 
world, confirming the testimony of Scripture, assures 
us that it is. 

Yet how much is dependent on this vapour, which 
may vanish in a moment ! The eternal destiny of the 
soul ! Its salvation or ruin ! Life, brief and un- 
certain as it is, is the only period allotted for pre- 
paration to meet the great Judge of quick and dead. 
If squandered, the injury is irreparable. No work 
or device is to be found in the grave. No future 
opportunity will be afforded for further trial, — for the 
correction of mistakes. Irreligion then is madness. 
It places the unhappy sinner on a brink, from which, 
at any moment, he may be precipitated into ruin. 
Who that desires the salvation of his soul can remain 
indifferent to the motives which press him to an im- 
mediate decision ? God is merciful, Christ is gracious, 
the Holy Spirit is ready to pour forth his influences. 
The Holy Trinity calls upon the sinner to awake to a 
just concern for his soul, the open grave utters its 
warning, and death keeps suspended his poised jave- 
lin before he strikes! The present moment is the 
sinner's opportunity, the promise waits, but death is 
ready to affix his unalterable seal on the character 
and destiny of the soul. 

My soul, thou art connected with a frail tabernacle 



180 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



which is every moment liable to fall into rain. When 
this connexion fails, thou wilt return to God, to be 
judged according to the deeds done in the body. Em- 
ploy the time allotted to thee in making thy calling 
and election sure. This done, thou hast nothing to 
fear; death is despoiled of its sting, and the grave of 
its victory • and although a voice from heaven shall 
soon declare, " time shall be no longer," thou mayest 
rejoice that to them that believe in Jesus, it shall be 
succeeded by an eternity of blessedness. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



181 



THE CONCLUSION. 



Although in the preceding selections we have con- 
confined ourselves to the Book of Proverbs, we can- 
not part company with the reader, without, for a 
moment, directing his attention to Ecclesiastes or the 
Preacher, another production of the wise king of Is- 
rael, which may be regarded as a suitable com- 
panion to the Proverbs. 

It has been supposed, and not without reason, that 
it was written by Solomon in his old age, and was 
designed to exhibit his views, on a serious and delib- 
erate review of life. Succeeding to the throne of his 
father David in early life, under peculiar marks of 
divine favour ; in the enjoyment of youthful vigour; 
possessed of princely wealth and power, all the sources 
of earthly happiness were open before him. His 
situation exposed him to peculiar temptations, and he 
was not proof against their insidious power. He 
drank too deeply, for his own peace, of the captivat- 
ing, but poisoned chalice. From this dream, however, 
he was awakened, and reviewing the past with regret, 
he has left to the world the advantages of his expe- 
rience. The spectator of his outward glory might 
have been led to pronounce him a truly happy man 
and to envy him his estate; but his own heart pro- 
nounced the vanity of all earthly enjoyments, while 
it approved only of the heavenly wisdom which he 
commended to others. How forcible and graphic 

16* 



182 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



his description of the inanity of the world's pleasures, 
and of their sorrowful results! 



I said in mine heart, Go to now, 
I will prove thee with mirth, there- 
fore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, 
this also is vanity. 

I said of laughter, It is mad : 
and of mirth, What doeth it? 

I sought in mine heart to give 
myself unto wine, yet acquainting 
mine heart with wisdom; and to 
lay hold on folly, till I might see 
what was that good for the sons 
of men, which they should do un- 
der the heaven all the days of their 
life. 

I made me great works; I build- 
ed me houses ; I planted me vine- 
yards : 

I made me gardens and or- 
chards, and I planted trees in 
them of all kind of fruits : 

I made me pools of water, to 
water therewith the wood that 
bringeth forth trees : 

I got me servants and maidens, 
and had servants born in my 
house; also I had great posses- 
sions of great and small cattle 
above all that were in Jerusalem 
before me : 

I gathered me also silver and 
gold, and the peculiar treasure of 
kings and of the provinces: I gat 
me men singers and women sing- 
ers, and the delights of the sons of 
men, as musical instruments, and 
that of all sorts. 

So I was great, and increased 
more than all that were before me 
in Jerusalem: also my wisdom 
remained with me. 

And whatsoever mine eyes de- 
sired I kept not from them, I 
withheld not my heart from any 



joy ; for my heart rejoiced in all 
my labour : and this was my por- 
tion of all my labour. 

Then I looked on all the works 
that my hands had wrought, and 
on the labour that I had laboured 
to do : and, behold, all was vanity 
and vexation of spirit, and there 
was no profit under the sun. 

And I turned myself to behold 
wisdom, and madness, and folly : 
for what can the man do that 
cometh after the king ? even that 
which hath been already done. 

Then I saw that wisdom excel- 
leth folly, as far as light excelleth 
darkness. 

The wise man's eyes are in his 
head ; but the fool walketh in dark- 
ness : and I myself perceived also 
that one event happeneth to them 
all. 

Then said I in my heart, As 
it happeneth to the fool, so it hap- 
peneth even to me ; and why was 
I then more wise? Then I said 
in my heart, that this also is va- 
nity. 

For there is no remembrance of 
the wise more than of the fool for 
ever ; seeing that which now is ia 
the days to come shall all be for- 
gotten. And how dieth the wise 
man ? as the fool. 

Therefore I hated life ; because 
the work that is wrought under 
the sun is grievous unto me : for 
all is vanity and vexation of spi- 
rit. 

Yea, I hated all my labour 
which I had taken under the sun: 
because I should leave it unto the 
man that shall be after me. 



• He depicts the agitations and conflicts of his own 
mind, and, with great probability, his own unbeliev- 
ing doubts and conclusions, when thus immersed in 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



183 



sensual pleasures, dissatisfied with himself, and dis- 
appointed in his hopes, until he imagined that " man 
had no preeminence over a beast," and " praised the 
dead which are already dead more than the living 
which are yet alive," and concluded that the negative 
condition of the unborn was to be preferred to that 
of either. 

He was a monarch, rich, admired, and courted, and 
yet these were some of his deliberate conclusions : 



Moreover the profit of the earth 
is for all : the king himself is 
served by the field. 

He that loveth silver shall not 
be satisfied with silver ; nor he 
that loveth abundance with in- 
crease : this is also vanity. 

When goods increase, they are 
increased that eat them : and what 
good is there to the owners there- 
of, saving the beholding of them 
with their eyes ? 

The sleep of a labouring man 
is sweet, whether he eat little or 
much : but the abundance of the 
rich will not suffer him to sleep. 

There is a sore evil which I 
have seen under the sun, namely, 
riches kept for the owners thereof 
to their hurt. 

But those riches perish by evil 
travail : and he begetteth a son, 
and there is nothing in his hand. 

As he came forth of his mother's 
womb, naked shall he return to go 
as he came, and shall take nothing 
of his labour, which he may carry 
away in his hand. 

And this also is a sore evil, 
that in all points as he came, so 
shall he go : and what profit hath 
he that hath laboured for the 
wind ? 



All his days also he eateth in 
darkness, and he hath much sor- 
row and wrath with his sickness. 

There is an evil which I have 
seen under the sun, and it is com- 
mon among men : 

A man to whom God hath given 
riches, wealth, and honour, so that 
he wanteth nothing for his soul of 
all that he desireth, yet God giveth 
him not power to eat thereof, but 
a stranger, 

For what hath the wise more 
than the fool? what hath the poor 
that knoweth to walk before the 
living ? 

Better is the sight of the eyes 
than the wandering of the desire: 
this is also vanity and vexation of 
spirit. 

That which hath been is named 
already, and it is known that it is 
man : neither may he contend 
with him that is mightier than he. 

Seeing there be many things 
that increase vanity, what is man 
the better ? 

For who knoweth what is good 
for man in this life, all the days of 
his vain life which he spendeth as 
a shadow ? for who can tell a man 
what shall be after him under the 
sun ? 



Such was the estimate which Solomon formed of 
the world after he had thoroughly gauged it ; and 



1S4 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



then he reverted to those more rational sources of 
enjoyment which his judgment approved, and to 
which he directed the attention of those who were to 
follow him. 



A good name is better than pre- 
cious ointment, and the day of 
death than the day of one's birth. 

It is better to go to the house of 
mourning, than to go to the house 
of feasting : for that is the end of 
all men; and the living will lay it 
to his heart. 

Sorrow is better than laughter : 
for by the sadness of the counte- 
nance the heart is made better. 

The heart of the wise is in the 
house of mourning ; but the heart 
of fools is in the house of mirth. 

It is better to hear the rebuke 
of the wise, than for a man to 
hear the song of fools. 

For as the crackling of thorns 
under a pot, so is the laughter of 
the fool : this also is vanity. 

Better is the end of a thing 
than the beginning thereof: and 
the patient in spirit is better than 
the proud in spirit. 

Be not hasty in thy spirit to be 
angry : for anger resteth in the 
bosom of fools. 

Wisdom is good with an inherit- 
ance ; and by it there is profit to 
them that see the sun. 

For wisdom is a defence, and 
money is a defence; but the ex- 



cellency of knowledge is, that 
wisdom giveth life to them that 
have it. 

In the day of prosperity be joy- 
ful, and in the day of adversity 
consider. 

I applied mine heart to know, 
and to search, and to seek out 
wisdom, and the reason of things, 
and to know the wickedness of 
folly, even of foolishness and mad- 
ness : 

And I find more bitter than 
death the woman, whose heart is 
snares and nets, and her hands as 
bands: whoso pleaseth God shall 
escape from her ; but the sinner 
shall be taken by her. 

Because sentence against an 
evil work is not executed speedily, 
therefore the heart of the sons of 
men is fully set in them to do 
evil. 

Though a sinner do evil an hun- 
dred times, and his days be pro- 
longed, yet surely I know that it 
shall be well with them that fear 
God, which fear before him : 

But it shall not be well with the 
wicked, neither shall he prolong 
his days, which are as a shadow ; 
because he feareth not before God. 



As a man standing on that point of observation, 
from which he looks back upon the world, whose 
pilgrimage he has almost accomplished, and forward, 
to inevitable death, he most tenderly admonishes the 
young, who, from their susceptibility and inexpe- 
rience are peculiarly exposed, to avoid the allure- 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



185 



ments and temptations with which they are beset. 
Hear his admonitions : 

" Rejoice, 0 young man, in thy youth; and let thy 
heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk 
in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine 
eyes; but know thou, that for all these things, God 
will bring thee into judgment. 

" But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them 
all, yet let him remember the days of darkness; for 
they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. 

" Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy 
youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years 
draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure 
in them." 



In closing our little volume we may most appro- 
priately do it in the language of him whose Fountain 
has furnished these refreshing Bills. 

66 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole 
matter: fear God, and keep his commandments; 

FOR THIS IS THE WHOLE DUTY OF MAN. For GoD 
SHALL BRING EVERY WORK INTO JUDGMENT, WITH 
EVERY SECRET THING, WHETHER IT BE GOOD, OR 
WHETHER IT BE EVIL." 



1S6 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



WISDOM. 

Proverbs viii. 22—31. 

/ 

Ere God had built the mountains, 
Or raised the fruitful hills; 
Before he filled the fountains 
That feed the running rills ; 
In me, from everlasting, 
The wonderful I am 
Found pleasures never wasting, 
And Wisdom is my name. 

When, like a tent to dwell in, 
He spread the skies abroad, 
And swathed about the swelling 
Of ocean's mighty flood: 
He wrought by weight and measure, 
And I was with him then; 
Myself the Father's pleasure, 
And mine the sons of men. 

Thus Wisdom's words discover 
Thy glory and thy grace, 
Thou everlasting lover 
Of our unworthy race ! 
Thy gracious eye surveyed us, 
Ere stars were seen above ; 
In wisdom thou hast made us, 
And died for us in love. 

And couldst thou be delighted 
With creatures such as we, 
Who, when we saw thee, slighted 
And nailed thee to a tree ? 
Unfathomable wonder, 
And mystery divine ! 
The voice that speaks in thunder, 
Says, " Sinner, I am thine !" 

Cowper. 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



187. 



VANITY OF LIFE. 

Ecclesiastes i. 2. 

The evils that beset our path, 

Who can prevent or cure ? 
We stand upon the brink of death, 

When most we seem secure. 

If we to-day sweet peace possess, 

It soon may be withdrawn j 
Some change may plunge us in distress 

Before to-morrow's dawn. 

Disease and pain invade our health, 

And find an easy prey ; 
And oft, when least expected, wealth 

Takes wings and flies away. 

A fever or a blow can shake 

Our wisdom's boasted rule, 
And of the brightest genius make 

A madman or a fool. 

The gourds from which we look for fruit, 

Produce us only pain ; 
A worm unseen attacks the root, 

And all our hopes are vain. 

I pity those who seek no more 

Than such a world can give; 
Wretched they are, and blind, and poor, 

And dying while they live. 

Since sin has filled the earth with wo, 

And creatures fade and die ; 
Lord, wean our hearts from things below, 

And fix our hopes on high. 

Newton. 



IS8 



FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM. 



VANITY OF THE WORLD. 

Ecclesiastes i; % 

God gives his mercies to be spent; 
Your hoard will do your soul no good ; 
Gold is a blessing only lent, 
Repaid by giving others food. 

The world's esteem is but a bribe ; 
To buy their peace you sell your own; 
The slave of a vain-glorious tribe ; 
Who hate you while they make you known. 

The joy that vain amusements give, 
O ! sad conclusion that it brings ! 
The honey of a crowded hive, 
Defended by a thousand stings. 

'Tis thus the world rewards the fools 
That live upon her treacherous smiles ; 
She leads them blindfold by her rules, 
And ruins all whom she beguiles. 

God knows the thousands who go down 
From pleasure into endless wo ; 
And with a long despairing groan, 
Blaspheme their Maker as they go. 

O fearful thought ! be timely wise ; 
Delight but in a Saviour's charms ; 
And God shall take you to the skies, 
Embraced in everlasting arms. 

Cowfer. 



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